I N  ATI  G  U  B  AT  ION 


STATUE 


DANIEL   WEBSTER. 


SEPTEMBER     17,     1859. 


B  O  S  T  O  1ST: 

C.     HAND     A  X  1)     A  V  V.  BY,     CI  T  V     1'  K  I  X  T  K 

\    ii.  (     O  It  X   II  I  I-  I,. 

1  859. 


THE    WEBSTER    STATUE 


UCSB  LIBRARY 
Y-&Z&I) 

INAUGURATION 


STATUE 


DANIEL  WEBSTER. 


SEPTEMBER     17,     1859. 


BOSTON: 

GEO.    C.    RAND    AND    AVERT,    CITY    PRINTERS. 

NO.     3     CORNHILL. 

1859. 


PRELIMINARY    PROCEEDINGS. 


A  MEETING  of  the  citizens  of  Boston  was  held  in  Faneuil  Hall  on  the  27th  of  Octo- 
ber, 1852,  "of  all  persons  desirous  of  consulting  together  and  considering  what 
memorial  of  the  services  of  Daniel  Webster  is  due  to  themselves  and  the  country.* 
His  Honor  Benjamin  Seaver  presided  at  this  meeting,  and  addresses  were  made  by  the 
Mayor,  by  the  Hon.  George  S.  Hillard  and  Hon.  Edward  Everett.  A  series  of  resolutions 
was  adopted  on  motion  of  John  T.  Heard,  Esq.,  one  of  which  provided  that  a  "  Com- 
mittee of  one  hundred  persons  be  appointed  by  the  chair,  to  be  selected  in  such  a 
manner  as  to  represent  the  citizens  of  every  pursuit,  calling,  and  party,  whose  duty  it 
shall  be  to  take  such  measures  as  may  be  deemed  expedient,  to  provide,  by  the  coop- 
eration of  the  whole  community,  a  permanent  memorial  of  our  illustrious  and  lamented 
fellow-citizen." 

The  following  persons  were,  by  the  Mayor,  named  of  this  Committee : 


Thos.  H.  Perkins, 
George  Ticknor, 
Edward  Everett, 
Nathan  Appleton, 
Abbott  Lawrence, 
Benj.  Seaver, 
Amos  Lawrence, 
Francis  C.  Gray, 
Samuel  Lawrence, 
R.  G.  Shaw, 
John  T.  Heard, 
Franklin  Haven, 
Chas.  G.  Greene, 
John  C.  Warren, 
John  E.  Thayer, 
Thos.  W.  Ward, 
John  A.  Lowell, 
Samuel  D.  Bradford, 
Robert  B.  Storer, 
Peter  Harvey, 
Enoch  Train, 
John  M.  Forbes, 
Levi  A.  Dowley, 
Moses  Williams, 
Albert  Fearing, 
L.  W.  Tappan, 
Henry  K.  Horton, 
Samuel  T.  Dana, 
W.  W.   Greenough, 
Daniel  Safford, 
John  P.  Thorndike, 
William  Hayden, 
George  T.  Curtis, 
Jacob 


John  H.  Pearson, 
Samuel  Hooper, 
John  P.  Ober, 
Vernon  Brown, 
J.  Thos.  Stevenson, 
C.  P.  Curtis, 
Charles  J.  Hendee, 
Jas.  K.  Mills, 
Francis  C.  Lowell, 
E.  F.  Raymond, 
W.  H.  Lamed, 
W.  C.  Barstow, 
S.  C.  Allen, 
Julius  A.  Palmer, 
John  C.  Tucker, 
James  Cheever, 
Geo.  B.  Upton, 
Geo.  R.  Sampson, 
William  Sturgis, 
Ozias  Goodwin, 
Paran  Stevens, 
H.  J.  Gardner, 
C.  C.  Felton, 
George  T.  Lyman, 
H.  M.  Holbrook, 
William  T.  Eustis, 
Thomas  J.  Whittemore. 
William  Almy, 
Joseph  Packard, 
N.  A.  Thompson, 
Charles  Larkin, 
William  Thomas, 
John  Jeffries, 
Sleeper,  Amos  A. 


Benjamin  Loring, 
Nathan  Hale, 
Samuel  A.  Eliot, 
William  Appleton, 
William  Amory, 
Charles  H.  Mills, 
A.  Hemmenway, 
Francis  Skinner, 
Charles  L.  Woodbury, 
Samuel  Henshaw, 
Benjamin  F.  Hallett, 
Samuel  Kettelle, 
C.  R.  Ransom, 
George  Peabody, 
Thomas  B.  Wales, 
Samuel  Whitwell, 
P.  W.  Chandler, 
John  W.  Trull, 
James  Whiting, 
Eliphalet  Jones, 
Silas  Pierce, 
George  W.  Crockett, 
Andrew  Carney, 
H.  H.  Hunnewell, 
James  Lawrence, 
J.  W.  James, 
Jonas  Chickering, 
Peter  Dunbar, 
Arthur  Pickering, 
Henry  Crocker, 
Benjamin  Smith, 
Ezra  Forristall, 
Thomas  B.  Curtis. 
Lawrence. 


*  Mr.  Webster  died  at  Marshfleld  on  the  24th  October,  1852. 


A  meeting  of  the  General  Committee  of  one  hundred  was  held  in  the  City  Hall  on 
the  1st  of  November,  and  in  pursuance  of  a  plan  of  organization  adopted  by  them, 
an  "Executive  Committee  of  ten"  was  appointed  "to  report  to  the  General 
Committee  what  memorial  they  recommend,  and  to  arrange  the  details  of  its  execu- 
tion." This  Committee  consisted  of  the  following  persons,  viz: 

George  Ticknor,  J.  Thomas  Stevenson,  William  Amory, 

William  Appleton,  John  T.  Heard,  George  W.  Crockett, 

Edward  Everett,  Charles  P.  Curtis,  Samuel  Lawrence, 

C.  C.  Felton. 

Messrs.  G.  Howland  Shaw  of  Boston,  Albert  H.  Nelson  of  Woburn,  and  Edward  A. 
Newton  of  Pittsfield,  were  unanimously  elected  members  of  the  Committee  of  one 
hundred,  to  fill  the  vacancies  occasioned  by  the  deaths  of  Messrs.  R.  G.  Shaw  and 
Amos  Lawrence,  and  the  resignation  of  Mr.  Benjamin  Loring  of  Boston. 

Liberal  subscriptions  having  been  made  throughout  the  community  to  effect  the 
proposed  object,  a  meeting  of  the  Executive  Committee  of  ten  was  held  on  the  5th 
of  May,  1853,  at  which  Messrs.  Everett,  Ticknor,  and  Amory  were  appointed  a  sub- 
committee to  consider  and  report  what  kind  of  monument  ought  to  be  erected  in 
honor  of  Mr.  Webster.  On  the  23d  of  May,  Mr.  Everett  made  a  report  in  favor  of  a 
statue,  to  be  executed  by  some  distinguished  American  artist,  and  to  be  set  up  in  the 
open  air  in  the  City  of  Boston.  This  report  was  unanimously  accepted  by  the  Exec- 
utive Committee,  and  ordered  to  be  referred  to  the  Committee  of  one  hundred  for 
their  approval. 

The  Committee  of  one  hundred  met  on  the  30th  of  May,  and  the  report  of  the 
Executive  Committee  in  favor  of  a  statue  was  unanimously  adopted,  and  the  Execu- 
tive Committee  were  directed  to  carry  it  into  effect.  A  correspondence  was  immedi- 
ately opened  by  the  sub-committee  with  Mr.  Powers,  and  in  the  month  of  October, 
1853,  a  contract  was  entered  into  with  him,  to  execute  a  Statue  of  Mr.  Webster  in 
bronze,  eight  feet  high,  for  the  sum  of  twelve  thousand  dollars.  The  sub-  committee 
were  led  to  select  Mr.  Powers  as  the  artist,  not  merely  on  the  ground  of  his  distin- 
guished talent  in  modelling  from  life,  but  because  he  had  enjoyed  the  opportunity  of 
studying  the  face  and  person  of  Mr.  Webster,  at  the  meridian  of  his  years,  during  a 
residence  of  two  or  three  weeks  at  Marshfield,  and  had,  at  that  time,  executed  a  bust 
of  him. 

The  statue  was  completed  and  shipped  from  Leghorn  in  the  autumn  of  1857,  but 
the  vessel  was  lost  at  sea.  The  statue  was  fully  insured  for  twelve  thousand  dollars, 
at  the  office  of  the  Atlantic  Mutual  Insurance  Company,  New  York,  and  this  sum, 
minus  the  premium,  was  promptly  paid.  As  soon  as  the  loss  of  the  vessel  was  ascer- 
tained, a  duplicate  of  the  statue  was  ordered  by  the  unanimous  direction  of  the  Ex- 
ecutive Committee,  for  seven  thousand  dollars,  and  the  work  was  received  in  good 
order  in  Boston,  on  the  20th  of  January  last.  It  was,  by  the  kindness  of  the  Trustees 
of  the  Boston  Athenaeum,  temporarily  placed  in  the  vestibule  of  that  Institution,  but 
unfortunately  at  an  elevation  and  in  a  light  (the  premises  not  admitting  better)  where 
it  was  seen  to  great  disadvantage. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Executive  Committee  on  the  12th  February,  1859,  it  was  voted 
that  a  meeting  of  the  General  Committee  of  one  hundred  be  called,  to  decide  on  the 
permanent  location  of  the  statue,  and  that  the  Executive  Committee  recommend  to 
the  Committee  of  one  hundred  that  it  be  placed  in  the  State  House  grounds,  if  per- 
mission can  be  obtained  from  the  Legislature. 


The  Committee  of  one  hundred  met  on  the  17th  of  February,  and  a  report  was 
submitted  from  the  Executive  Committee  by  its  Chairman  (Mr.  Everett,)  embodying 
the  following  resolution : 

"  Resolved,  That  the  Executive  Committee  be,  and  they  are  hereby  authorized  and 
directed  to  make  application,  through  His  Excellency  the  Governor,  to  the  Legislature 
of  the  Commonwealth,  for  permission  to  set  up  the  statue  of  Mr.  Webster  on  some 
suitable  spot  within  the  State  House  grounds,  at  the  expense  of  the  '  Webster  Memo- 
rial Fund; '  and,  in  case  the  application  be  granted,  that  the  said  committee  be  author- 
ized and  directed  to  make  all  suitable  arrangements  to  carry  the  same  into  effect, 
provided  the  expense  of  the  same  shall  not  exceed  the  amount  of  funds  in  the  hands 
of  the  Committee." 

The  report  embodying  the  foregoing  resolution  was  accepted  without  a  division. 

The  following  vacancies  were  reported  in  the  General  Committee,  occasioned  by 
the  deaths  of  Messrs.  Thomas  H.  Perkins,  Abbott  Lawrence,  Francis  C.  Gray,  J.  C. 
Warren,  M.  D.,  John  E.  Thayer,  Thomas  W.  Ward,  Thomas  B.  Wales,  Jonas  Chick  - 
ering,  Daniel  Safford;  and  they  were  filled,  respectively,  by  the  election  of  Messrs. 
Thomas  H.  Perkins,  T.  Bigelow  Lawrence,  William  Gray,  J.  Mason  Warren,  M.  D., 
Nathaniel  Thayer.,  Samuel  G.  Ward,  Thomas  B.  Wales,  Thomas  E.  Chickering,  and 
Daniel  Safford. 

In  pursuance  of  the  instructions  of  the  Committee  of  one  hundred,  the  following 
letter  was  addressed  to  the  Governor  of  the  Commonwealth : 


BOSTON,  19th  February,  1859. 

SIB:  —  A  bronze  statue  eight  feet  in  height,  of  Daniel  Webster,  executed  by  Powers, 
a  distinguished  American  artist,  has  lately  been  received  in  this  city.  It  is  designed 
to  be  placed  upon  a  pedestal  of  about  the  same  height.  By  direction  of  the  Execu- 
tive Committee  of  the  "  Webster  Memorial,"  I  beg  leave  to  transmit  to  your  Excel- 
lency a  certified  copy  of  a  resolution  adopted  on  the  17th  instant,  at  a  meeting  of  the 
General  Committee  of  one  hundred,  having  charge  of  the  statue,  and  through  you  to 
make  respectful  application  to  the  Legislature  of  the  Commonwealth  for  permission, 
at  the  expense  of  the  "  Webster  Memorial  Fund,"  to  place  the  statue  on  some  suitable 
spot  within  the  State  House  grounds. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  on  behalf  of  the  Executive  Committee,  with  high  con- 
sideration, Your  Excellency's  obedient  servant, 

EDWAED    EVERETT. 
His  Excellency  NATHANIEL  P.  BANKS. 


This  letter  was  communicated  to  the  House  of  Representatives  by  the  Governor,  in 
the  following  message : 

EXECUTIVE  DEPARTMENT,  COUNCIL,  CHAMBER,  ) 
BOSTON,  March  10, 1859.  ) 

To  the  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives: — 

SIR, — I  have  the  honor  to  transmit  to  the  House  of  Representatives,  for  the  use  of 
the  Legislature,  a  communication  from  the  Honorable  Edward  Everett,  inclosing  a 
certified  copy  of  resolutions  adopted  at  a  meeting  of  the  general  committee  having  in 
charge  the  statue  of  Mr.  Webster,  and  requesting  permission  of  the  Legislature  to 
place  the  statue,  at  the  expense  of  the  Webster  Memorial  Fund,  on  some  suitable  spot 
within  the  State  House  grounds,  under  such  regulations  as  in  the  judgment  of  the 


8 


Legislature  may  be  deemed  expedient,  with  reference  to  the  nature  of  the  grounds 
and  the  character  of  the  statue. 

I  recommend  that  the  request  of  the  general  committee  of  the  friends  of  Mr.  Web- 
ster be  granted.  Mr.  Webster  gave  to  the  service  of  the  Commonwealth  the  best 
years  of  his  life.  Entering  the  public  councils  in  1820,  he  devoted  himself  to  public 
employments  in  the  constitutional  and  legislative  assemblies  of  this  State,  in  both 
Houses  of  Congress,  and  in  the  Cabinet,  until  the  closing  hours  of  his  life. 

His  eloquence,  superior  attainments  and  unsurpassed  intellectual  power,  contributed 
in  an  eminent  degree  to  mark  the  period  of  his  public  service  as  one  of  the  most  inter- 
esting and  important  that  has  occurred  since  the  adoption  of  the  Constitution. 

If  permission  to  place  the  statue  on  some  suitable  spot  within  the  State  House 
grounds  shall  be  granted,  it  is  probable  that  other  works  of  art  commemorating  the 
services  of  distinguished  citizens  of  the  Commonwealth  will  speedily  be  created,  and 
thus  the  Legislature  will  be  enabled,  without  public  expense,  by  a  proper  exercise  of 
its  power,  to  add  to  the  attractive  beauties  of  the  Capitol,  to  elevate  the  public  tastn 
in  works  of  art,  and  to  strengthen  the  influences  which  appeal  directly  to  the  patriot- 
ism of  the  people. 

NATHANIEL  P.  BANKS. 


This  message  was  referred  to  the  appropriate  committees  of  the  two  Houses,  and 
on  their  report,  permission  was  unanimously  granted,  to  erect  the  statue  in  the  State 
House  grounds. 

A  spot  in  front  of  the  eastern  wing  of  the  State  House  having  been  selected  by  a 
sub-committee  of  the  Executive  Committee,  acting  in  concurrence  with  the  commis- 
sioners on  the  part  of  the  Commonwealth,  the  17th  day  of  September,  the  anniversary 
of  the  City  of  Boston,  was  appointed  for  the  inauguration  of  the  statue.  The  Mayor 
of  the  city  having  presided  at  the  meeting  of  the  citizens  hi  Faneuil  Hall,  at  which 
the  proceedings  were  initiated  in  1852,  and  the  City  Council  having  taken  measures 
to  assist  in  the  inauguration  of  the  first  statue,  the  following  letter  was  addressed  to 
His  Honor  the  Mayor,  inviting  the  cooperation  of  the  City  Government  on  the  present 


BOSTON,  July  25,  1859. 

DEAR  SIR: — On  the  17th  of  September,  1857,  a  resolution  passed  the  City  Council 
appointing  a  joint  committee  "  to  inquire  if  any  action  is  expedient  on  the  part  of  the 
City  in  its  corporate  capacity,  in  view  of  the  proposed  inauguration  of  a  statue  of 
the  late  Daniel  Webster  about  to  be  erected  in  this  city."  The  loss  of  the  statue  at 
sea  and  the  time  required  to  procure  a  duplicate  have  caused  delay  in  its  erection ; 
but  I  have  been  directed  by  the  Committee  having  in  charge  the  arrangements  for 
that  purpose,  to  acquaint  you  that  they  have  appointed  the  17th  of  September  next 
for  the  erection  of  the  statue  in  the  State  House  grounds,  the  consent  of  the  two 
Houses  having  been  granted  at  the  late  session  of  the  Legislature. 

I  am  further  directed  by  the  Committee  to  acquaint  you  that  the  attendance  and 
cooperation  of  the  Mayor  and  the  City  Council  in  the  ceremonial  of  the  day  will 
afford  them  great  satisfaction. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  on  behalf  of  the  Committee,  most  respectfully  yours, 

EDWARD    EVERETT. 
His  Honor  F.  W.  LINCOLN,  JR.,  Mayor  of  the  City  of  Boston. 


This  letter  was  transmitted  by  the  Mayor  to  the  City  Council  in  the  following 
message : 

To  the  Honwable  the  City  Council: 

I  transmit  the  following  communication  from  the  Hon.  Edward  Everett,  respecting 
the  proposed  inauguration  of  the  statue  of  the  late  Daniel  Webster.  It  is  proposed 
that  the  services  shall  take  place  on  the  seventeenth  of  September,  the  anniversary  of 
the  settlement  of  Boston  and  of  the  adoption  of  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States. 

The  Committee  of  citizens  who  have  in  charge  the  arrangements  for  the  occasion, 
desire  the  cooperation  of  the  City  Government,  and  I  would  respectfully  suggest  the 
appointment  of  a  committee  from  your  own  body  to  confer  with  them  on  the  subject. 

F.  W.  LINCOLN,  JR.,  Mayor. 
Whereupon  the  following  proceedings  were  had : 

IN  COMMON  COUNCIL,  July  28, 1859. 

Read  and  referred  to  Messrs.  Tyler,  Bayley,  Jones,  Deal,  and  Clapp,  with  such  as 
the  Board  of  Aldermen  may  join,  to  confer  with  the  Committee  of  Citizens  referred 
to  in  the  within  communication,  and  to  take  such  measures  as  they  may  deem  neces- 
sary. Sent  up  for  concurrence. 

J.  P.  BRADLEE,  President. 

IN  BOARD  OF  ALDERMEN,  August  1,  1859. 
Concurred ;  and  Aldermen  Clapp,  Dennie,  and  Allen  were  joined. 

SILAS  PEIRCE,    Chairman. 

The  following  correspondence  was  also  had  with  the  Governor  of  the  Common- 
wealth : 

BOSTON,  Aug.  30,  1859. 

DEAR  SIR:  —  Referring  to  the  letter  which  I  had  the  honor  to  address  to  you  on  the 
25th  ult.,  I  beg  leave  to  state,  that  it  is  proposed  by  the  Committee  charged  with  the 
arrangements  for  the  erection  of  the  Webster  statue,  on  the  17th  of  September,  that 
it  should,  on  behalf  of  the  subscribers  to  the  Webster  Memorial,  be  presented  in  a 
short  address,  by  Prof.  Felton,  to  His  Honor  the  Mayor  of  Boston,  of  which  Mr. 
Webster  was  for  so  long  a  time  an  honored  citizen,  and  that  the  Mayor,  in  like 
manner,  should  present  it  to  Your  Excellency  as  the  Representative  of  the  Common- 
wealth, in  whose  public  grounds,  under  a  resolution  of  the  two  Houses  of  the  Legis- 
lature, the  Statue  is  to  be  set  up,  to  be  accepted  by  you  on  their  behalf. 

It  would  afford  the  Committee  the  highest  satisfaction,  should  you  be  pleased  to 
take  the  part  in  the  ceremonial  thus  indicated. 

I  remain,  dear  sir,  with  great  respect, 

Very  truly  yours, 

EDWARD    EVERETT. 

BOSTON,  August  30,  1859. 

DEAR  SIR:  —  I  received  this  morning  your  note  of  this  date,  setting  forth  the 
arrangements  proposed  for  the  inauguration  of  the  Statue  of  Mr.  Webster,  and  the 
part  assigned  me,  in  the  ceremony. 

It  gives  me  pleasure  to  assure  you  that  the  arrangements  are  in  all  respects  agree- 
able, and  that  I  shall  cheerfully  undertake  the  duties  assigned  to  me,  on  the  part  of 
the  Government  of  the  Commonwealth. 

Very  respectfully, 

Your  obedient  servant, 

2  NATH'L  P.  BANKS. 


10 


The  procuring  of  the  pedestal  and  the  general  charge  of  erecting  the  statue  were 
committed  to  S.  Greely  Curtis,  Esq.  The  pedestal  is  of  beautiful  New  Hampshire 
granite,  and  is  executed  from  drawings  by  Mr.  Curtis,  for  which  a  sketch  was  fur- 
nished by  Mr.  Powers.  Platforms  were  thrown  over  the  areas  in  front  of  both  wings 
of  the  State  House,  and  an  elevated  stage  erected  in  the  central  space  between  them, 
at  the  expense  of  the  memorial  fund.  The  weather  proving  very  unfavorable  on  the 
17th  of  September,  it  became  necessary  to  perform  the  dedicatory  exercises  in  the 
Music  Hall.  The  organization  of  the  procession  and  the  other  arrangements  of  the 
day  took  place  under  the  auspices  of  the  City  Council.  General  John  S.  Tyler 
officiated  as  Chief  Marshal,  it  being  the  third  time  of  his  occupying  this  position  on 
occasions  directly  connected  with  the  name  of  Webster,  viz:  Mr.  Webster's  Reception 
Home,  July  9th,  1852;  the  Webster  Obsequies,  Nov.  2d,  1852;  and  the  present  occa- 
sion. The  same  gentlemen  who  assisted  on  these  memorable  days  as  Aids  and  Mar- 
shals were  again  invited  to  participate,  and  nearly  all  accepted  the  invitation.  The 
list  of  names  is  as  follows : 


Fred.  W.  Lincoln,  Jos.  L.  Henshaw,  Thos.  E.  Chickering, 

Lewis  W.  Tappan,  George  B.  Upton,  M.  G.  Cobb, 

W.  W.  Clapp,  Jr.  N.  A.  Thompson,  E.  Webster  Pike. 

MARSHALS. 

Peter  Butler,  Jr.,  Adolphus  Davis,  H.  D.  Child, 

Granville  Mears,  G.  S.  Curtis,  J.  M.  Wightman, 

Otis  Kimball,  J.  Russell  Spalding,  C.  H.  Appleton, 

E.  F.  Hall,  C.  H.  Dudley,  Ives  G.  Bates, 

Dudley  H.  Bayley,  J.  Tisdale  Bradlee,  J.  H.  Sleeper, 

R.  I.  Burbank,  Sidney  Bartlett,  Jr.,  C.  F.  Lougee, 

D.  F.  McGilvray,  D.  B/Hooper,  S.  A.  Bradbury, 

J.  Fred.  Marsh,  C.  W.  Frost,  George  S.  Walker, 

John  A.  Cummings,  John  M.  Wright,  L.  B.  Barnes, 
W.  S.  Thacher,                      E.  G.  Tucker. 

The  military  escort  duties  were  performed  by  the  Second  Battalion  of  Infantry, 
First  Division  of  Massachusetts  Volunteer  Militia,  under  the  command  of  Major  C. 
0.  Rogers.  At  about  half-past  one  P.  M.  the  Legislature,  conducted  by  Mr.  Morissey 
the  Sergeant-at-Arms,  formed  in  procession  in  the  Doric  Hall  at  the  State  House,  and 
repaired  under  the  escort  of  Major  Rogers'  battalion  to  the  Music  Hall.  They  were 
soon  followed  by  the  civic  procession  from  the  City  Hall,  under  the  same  escort.  The 
Music  Hall,  of  which  the  galleries  had  been  filled  with  ladies  at  an  earlier  hour,  was 
now  thrown  open  to  the  public,  and  was  soon  crowded  to  its  utmost  capacity.  Upon 
the  platform  were  seated  the  Committee  of  one  hundred,  the  subscribers  to  the  Statue, 
Rev.  S.  K.  Lothrop,  chaplain  for  the  occasion,  and  invited  guests.  Among  the  latter 
were  ex-President  Pierce,  Gov.  Ichabod  Goodwin,  of  New  Hampshire,  Hon.  Francis 
Granger,  of  New  York,  ex-Posrmaster-General,  Capt.  Hudson,  U.  S.  N.,  ex-Gov.  Fish, 
of  New  York,  Daniel  W.  Gouch,  M.  C.  elect,  Hon.  Linus  B.  Comins,  Hon.  Anson  Bnr- 
lingame,  Hon.  Alexander  H.  Rice,  Judges  Lord,  Wells  and  Russell,  of  the  Superior 
Court,  Hon.  Chas.  A.  Phelps,  President  of  the  Mass.  Senate,  Hon.  Chas.  Hale, 
Speaker  of  the  House,  J.  Thos.  Stevenson,  Esq.,  G.  T.  Curtis,  Esq.,  J.  W.  Paige,  Esq., 
J.  P.  Bradlee,  Esq.,  President  of  the  Common  Council,  Col.  John  T.  Heard,  Fletcher 
Webster,  Esq.,  Peter  Harvey,  E?q.,  and  many  others. 


SERVICES    AT    THE    MUSIC    HALL. 


AT  precisely  three  o'clock,  Gen.  John  S.  Tyler,  Chief  Marshal  of  the  day,  intro- 
duced Rev.  Mr.  LOTHROP,  who  offered  the  following  appropriate  prayer: 

PRAYER. 

Almighty  God,  our  Heavenly  Father,  we  recognize  and  adore  Thee  before  whom  we 
are  nothing-,  and  without  whom  we  can  do  nothing.  In  dependence  upon  Thee  is  all  our 
strength  ;  in  the  beamings  of  Thy  glory  is  all  our  light,  in  prostrating  our  wills  to  Thy 
most  holy  will  is  our  highest  elevation.  We  thank  Thee  that  Thou  hast  created  man 
in  Thine  own  image,  that  the  breath  of  Thine  inspiration  endoweth  him  with  under- 
standing, that  the  Gospel  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour,  Jesus  Christ,  calleth  him  to  glory, 
honor,  and  immortality.  We  thank  Thee  for  all  the  great  and  good,  the  wise  and 
useful,  the  men  of  mighty  minds  and  noble  hearts,  whom  Thou  hast  raised  up,  and  dost 
raise  up  in  all  ages,  in  all  lands,  and  with  every  generation,  to  shine  as  lights  in  the 
world,  and  to  be  guides  and  leaders  in  the  great  march  of  humanity.  We  thank  Thee 
especially  for  Thy  mercies  to  us  of  this  nation,  in  that  from  the  hour  that  our  Fathers 
sought  an  asylum  on  these  shores,  all  through  our  history,  and  with  every  generation, 
Thou  hast  never  left  us  without  those  who  were  wise  in  council,  persevering  in  effort, 
steadfast  in  purpose,  devoted  in  patriotism,  strong  in  faith, — men  whose  virtues  have 
not  been  forgotten,  whose  names  cannot  perish,  whose  glory  liveth  forever.  And  now, 
O  God  !  that  we  are  met  together  to  do  honor  to  the  memory  of  one  of  our  illustrious 
dead,  whose  fame  filled  the  nation  and  covered  the  earth,  by  setting  up  his  image  here 
among  us,  that  it  may  speak  to  the  eye,  and  utter  lessons  that  shall  reach  the  ear  of  the 
heart,  we  devoutly  implore  Thy  blessing  upon  the  work  of  our  hands  and  the  purpose 
of  our  souls. 

O  thou  gracious  God,  whose  inspiration  giveth  genius,  whose  wisdom  imparteth 
understanding,  we  thank  Thee  that  Thou  didst  give  us  the  great  and  strong  man  whom 
we  here  commemorate,  to  be  for  so  many  years  a  guiding  light  in  our  national  councils. 
We  recall  with  gratitude  all  his  eminent  and  varied  services  to  his  country ;  and  we 
pray  that  all  that  was  wise,  comprehensive,  and  patriotic  in  him,  as  a  statesman,  all 
that  was  just,  profound,  and  true  in  his  eloquent  utterances  as  an  orator,  all  that  was 
good,  noble,  Christian  in  his  life  and  character  as  a  man,  may  live  in  our  memories,  and 
in  the  memories  of  those  who  come  after  us  ;  and  may  his  statue,  now  placed  within  the 
shadow  of  the  Capitol,  entrusted  to  the  guardianship  of  the  State,  speak  to  all  beholders 
with  something  of  the  power  of  his  living  presence,  and  be  to  them  a  quickening-  inspi- 
ration and  incentive  to  walk  in  the  path  of  patriotism,  usefulness,  and  honor.  We  ask 
Thy  blessing  upon  those  who  are  to  speak  to  us  in  the  further  services  of  this  occasion, 
that  their  words  may  be  "  like  apples  of  gold  in  pictures  of  silver,"  giving  us  wisdom 
and  strength.  Let  thy  benediction  be  upon  our  city,  upon  its  government,  and  upon  all 
its  interests ;  upon  this  ancient  Commonwealth,  upon  its  Chief  Magistrate,  and  upon 
all  those  charged  with  the  enactment  of  its  laws  and  the  promotion  of  its  welfare ;  upon 
the  President  of  these  United  States,  and  all  called  to  offices  of  trust  and  authority 
among  us.  Let  Thy  favor  abide  with  our  people  everywhere,  that  they  may  so  serve 
Thee  and  be  obedient  unto  Christ,  that  the  righteousness  that  exalteth  a  nation  shall 
more  and  more  prevail,  and  the  blessing  of  the  Lord  our  God  be  upon  us  as  it  was  upon 
our  fathers. 

We  offer  our  prayer  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  as  whose  disciples  we  pray. 
Our  Father  who  art  in  heaven,  hallowed  be  Thy  name,  Thy  kingdom  come,  Thy  will 
be  done  on  earth  as  it  is  in  heaven.  Give  us  this  day  our  daily  bread.  Forgive  us  our 
trespasses  as  we  forgive  those  who  trespass  against  us.  Lead  us  not  into  temptation, 
but  deliver  us  from  evil,  for  thine  is  the  kingdom  and  the  power  and  the  glory  for  eve/ 
and  ever.  Amen. 


12 


PROFESSOR  FELTON  was  then  introduced,  and  delivered  the  following  address  of 
presentation,  on  behalf  of  the  Committee  of  one  hundred : 


MR.  MAYOR:  —  It  has  been  the  custom  of  the 
most  civilized  nations,  to  erect  bronze  and  marble 
statues  in  commemoration  of  their  great  men.  There 
is  a  fond  desire  in  the  hearts  of  the  living  to  prolong 
the  memory,  by  perpetuating  the  form  and  linea- 
ments, of  those  who  have  been  distinguished  in  the 
service  of  God  and  man;  and  when  a  mourning 
nation  has  followed  an  illustrious  citizen  or  ruler 
to  the  tomb,  and  tune  has  softened  down  the  first 
vehemence  of  grief,  the  hand  of  genius  is  employed 
to  clothe  his  mortal  semblance  in  the  immortality 
of  art. 

After  the  death  of  Demosthenes,  on  the  little 
island  of  Calaureia,  which  looks  over  from  the  oppo- 
site coast  of  the  classic  sea  that  washes  his  native 
Attica,  the  Athenian  people  passed  a  decree  to  set 
up  in  the  place  of  greatest  public  resort,  a  bronze 
statue  of  that  martyr  to  liberty,  whose  fame  has 
filled  the  world  for  more  than  twenty  centuries. 
The  ancient  traveller,  as  he  wandered  through  the 
Agora,  surveyed  that  masterly  work  of  art,  stand- 
ing in  front  of  the  Acropolis,  and  in  sight  of  the 
Bema,  whence  his  resistless  eloquence  had  so  often 

"  fulmined  over   Greece, 
To  Macedon   and    Artaxerxes'   throne." 


13 


While  contemplating  the  wonderful  force  and  beauty 
of  expression  the  sculptor  had  stamped  on  brow 
and  feature,  he  recalled  the  triumphs  of  the  great 
statesman's  life,  his  civil  courage,  his  lofty  virtues, 
his  devotion  to  the  welfare  and  honor  of  his  country, 
and  his  tragic  death.  The  same  classic  sea  still 
sings  his  requiem  below  the  ruined  temple  of  Nep- 
tune, where  he  died. 

Our  great  citizen,  Mr.  Mayor,  like  that  illustrious 
ancient,  consecrated  his  peerless  genius  and  his 
mighty  eloquence,  his  civil  courage  and  his  manly 
virtues,  to  the  service  of  his  country,  and  died  in 
the  midst  of  public  cares.  In  silence  and  in  sorrow 
we  followed  all  that  was  mortal  of  Daniel  Webster 
to  his  last  resting-place,  and  saw  him  laid  in  the  bosom 
of  the  sacred  earth  at  Marshfield.  He  sleeps  with 
Pilgrim  and  kindred  dust,  by  the  broad  ocean;  and 
the  broad  ocean  he  loved  so  well  shall  sing  his 
requiem  for  ever. 

Desirous  to  give  a  durable  expression  to  their 
sense  of  his  public  greatness  and  of  his  private 
virtues;  desirous,  also,  to  transmit  to  the  coming 
ages  a  monument  that  shall  represent  to  them  the 
dignity  of  personal  bearing  with  which  he  moved 
among  his  contemporaries, 

A  combination   and  a  form  indeed, 

Where  every  god  did  seem  to  set  his  seal, 

And   give   the  world   assurance   of   a  man, — 


14 


his  fellow-citizens  have  thought  proper  to  cause  a 
statue  of  heroic  size  to  be  made  by  a  most  distin- 
guished American  sculptor. 

The  Committee  charged  with  the  honorable  duty 
of  executing  their  wishes,  have  now  finished  the 
grateful  task,  and  with  the  consent  of  the  public 
authorities,  have  placed  the  statue  here  —  here,  on 
the  Capitol  of  Massachusetts,  that  it  may  stand,  like 
a  sentinel  guarding  the  sanctuary  of  the  Common- 
wealth, as  during  his  life  he  guarded  the  Constitution 
and  the  laws  of  the  Union.  The  stranger  approach- 
ing this  sacred  spot,  shall  linger  to  gaze  on  the 
noble  form  of  Webster;  and,  as  he  crosses  the 
threshold  of  the  State  House,  his  eye  shall  behold 
the  sculptured  majesty  of  Washington.  WASHINGTON 
and  WEBSTER!  Fortunate  conjunction!  August  com- 
panionship of  the  great  departed!  The  one  estab- 
lished, the  other  defended  the  Constitution  of  the 
country,  and  their  names  shall  live,  inseparable  and 
immortal,  in  the  same  transcendent  eloquence,  and 
in  the  hearts  of  their  grateful  countrymen. 

The  duty  has  been  assigned  to  me,  Mr.  Mayor, 
of  transferring  this  statue  of  Mr.  Webster  to  your 
charge,  as  the  honored  Chief  Magistrate  of  the  City 
of  Boston.  For  here,  more  than  elsewhere,  was 
the  scene  of  his  social  and  domestic  happiness,  while 
the  whole  country  was  the  theatre  of  his  triumphs. 
Here  were  formed  many  of  his  earliest  and  his 


15 

latest  friendships  —  the  glory  of  his  opening  man- 
hood, and  the  joy  of  his  advancing  age.  Among 
the  tried  and  true,  who  consoled  his  last  hours  by 
their  presence,  were  warm  hearts  from  this  city  — 
some  of  them,  alas !  now  cold  in  the  grave  —  beloved 
friends  who  stood  by  his  side  in  the  battle  of  life, 
and  wept  around  his  dying  bed.  The  greatness  of 
Webster  is  an  eternal  acquisition  to  his  country; 
but  the  City  and  the  State  which  adopted  and  cher- 
ished him,  share  with  the  place  of  his  birth,  the 
dearest  interest  in  his  renown. 

As  the  organ  of  the  subscribers  to  this  statue,  and 
of  the  Executive  Committee,  I  now  formally  deliver 
it,  Mr.  Mayor,  to  }rou.  From  this  moment,  it  is  no 
longer  a  private  possession;  it  becomes  a  sacred 
public  trust.  Here  let  it  stand,  not  only  to  perpet- 
uate our  reverence  for  an  illustrious  man,  but  to 
keep  alive  the  principles  that  inspired,  and  the  vir- 
tues that  adorned  his  long  and  patriotic  career. 


16 


The  MAYOR  received  the  statue  on  behalf  of  the  City  of  Boston,  and  surrendered  it 
to  the  keeping  of  the  Commonwealth,  as  follows : 

WE  have  assembled,  fellow-citizens,  on  the  birthday 
of  our  ancient  metropolis,  to  celebrate  the  event  with 
ceremonies  appropriate  to  the  occasion. 

You  have  gathered  at  our  City  Hall,  the  home  of 
our  municipal  legislation,  and  starting  from  the  statue 
of  the  great  Native  Bostonian,  have  come  up  here 
under  the  shadow  of  the  Capitol  of  the  Commonwealth 
to  assist  in  the  inauguration  of  a  similar  memorial  of 
the  greatest  of  her  adopted  sons. 

Boston  at  all  times  has  delighted  to  honor  those 
who  have  honored  her,  and  what  name  on  her  illustri- 
ous roll  of  fame  will  shine  more  resplendently  in  the 
future  than  that  of  Daniel  Webster  ? 

The  formalities  of  the  present  occasion  require  but 
a  simple  service  from  me  —  to  receive  on  behalf  of  the 
City  of  Boston  the  Statue  which  is  now  before  us,  and 
to  transfer  it,  in  accordance  with  the  wishes  of  the  pro- 
prietors, to  the  custody  of  the  Commonwealth. 

The  monarchical  governments  of  the  Old  World 
often  erect  statues  of  their  favorites,  and  pay  for 
them  out  of  the  public  coffers.  With  us  the  people's 
spontaneous  love  furnishes  the  monument  and  pre- 
sents it  to  the  Government  of  their  choice. 

It  does  not  become  me  in  this  presence  to  enter  into 
any  eulogium  on  Daniel  Webster.  He  made  Boston 


his  home,  and  through  his  citizenship  added  to  the 
renown  of  the  city  by  the  brilliancy  of  his  genius  and 
the  value  of  his  public  services. 

At  his  death,  her  people,  in  common  with  the  whole 
country,  bewailed  his  loss,  and  united  in  those  public 
demonstrations  of  sorrow  which  were  respectful  to  his 
memory.  Time  may  temper  somewhat  the  poignancy 
of  our  grief,  but  he  "still  lives"  in  those  masterly 
expositions  of  American  statesmanship  which  he  has 
bequeathed  to  posterity.  During  his  lifetime  he  occu- 
pied a  prominent  position  in  public  observation.  We 
would  seek,  if  possible,  by  the  service  of  art  to  prolong 
his  visible  presence. 

The  Committee  of  Citizens  under  whose  auspices 
this  Statue  has  been  prepared,  have  seen  fit,  through 
their  organ,  in  the  first  place  to  present  it  to  the  muni- 
cipal authorities  of  Boston.  In  their  behalf  I  receive 
it,  and  in  turn  would  present  it  to  Your  Excellency, 
the  Governor  of  the  Commonwealth. 

It  was  as  the  special  representative  of  the  Boston 
District  that  Mr.  Webster  took  his  seat  in  Congress, 
after  he  made  our  city  his  home.  The  whole  State, 
however,  soon  claimed  his  services,  and  it  was  as  a 
Senator  of  Massachusetts  that  he  achieved  the  greater 
portion  of  his  fame,  and  performed  the  more  important 
labors  for  the  public  welfare. 

We  make  this  offering,  sir,  to  our  beloved  Common- 
wealth, on  our  municipal  anniversary,  but  we  do  not 


18 


forget  that  this  day  has  other  associations  connected 
with  it.  It  is  the  seventy-second  anniversary  of  the 
adoption  of  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States. 

Truly  no  more  appropriate  day  could  be  selected  for 
the  inauguration  of  a  monument  in  honor  of  one  whose 
popular  title  during  his  lifetime  was  that  of  the 
"  Defender  of  the  Constitution." 

We  place  it  in  the  care  and  custody  of  the  Common- 
wealth. May  it  remain  an  ornament  to  the  Capitol 
grounds  so  long  as  legislators  shall  go  up  thither  to 
make  laws  for  a  free  people.  May  strangers  and 
citizens,  as  they  gaze  upon  it,  feel  a  renewed  assurance 
in  the  stability  of  the  Republic  and  the  perpetuity  of 
our  institutions.  May  patriots  feel  a  new  inspiration 
in  its  presence  as  they  behold  one  of  the  nation's 
greatest  benefactors  thus  remembered  and  honored  by 
the  people. 


19 


GOVERNOR  BANKS  in  behalf  of  the  Commonwealth  accepted  the  Statue   by  the 
following  address: 

THE  celebration  of  this  day,  Mr.  Mayor,  marks 
two  public  events  of  immediate  local  interest  to  the 
people  of  the  Commonwealth,  —  the  birth  of  a  city 
so  renowned  as  its  metropolis,  and  the  monumental 
commemoration  of  the  career  of  a  citizen  so  dis- 
tinguished as  Daniel  Webster,  whose  name  has  been 
made  illustrious  by  unsurpassed  strength  of  intellect 
and  transcendent  genius. 

Greatly  distinguished  men  may,  without  extrava- 
gance, be  identified  with  the  political  and  social 
communities  in  which  they  are  reared,  or  to  which, 
in  the  meridian  splendor  of  life,  they  contributed 
of  their  strength  and  labor.  Their  powers  are  dis- 
proportionate, and  their  destinies  dissimilar;  yet,  in 
the  economy  of  Divine  Providence,  the  silent  but 
perpetual  ascendency  of  character,  in  states  as  in 
statesmen,  corresponds  in  so  many  respects,  and 
harmonizes  in  so  many  attributes,  that  the  advent 
of  one  and  the  career  of  the  other  may  without 
impropriety  be  celebrated  together.  And  I  congrat- 
ulate myself,  sir,  that  it  is  permitted  me,  in  this 
public  manner,  as  the  representative  of  the  people 
of  Massachusetts,  to  make  official  recognition  of  the 
great  honor  which  the  municipality  of  Boston  has 
conferred  upon  our  ancient  and  beloved  Common- 
wealth. 


20 


Cities,  it  has  been  truly  said,  I  think,  are  the 
nurseries  of  freedom.  They  mark,  with  the  towns 
from  which  they  spring,  the  line  that  separates  rude 
and  wandering  tribes  of  men  from  settled  and  civil- 
ized forms  of  society.  It  is  through  their  contests 
and  sorrows,  in  a  great  degree,  that  we  have  attained 
our  now  imperishable  institutions  of  government, 
and  enjoy,  in  peace  and  prosperity,  the  blessings  of 
rational  liberty. 

There  are  no  more  inspiring  themes  among  the 
traditions  of  men,  than  those  which  recount  the 
collection  of  families  and  the  creation  of  cities  that 
during  a  succession  of  ages  maintained  forms  of 
government,  established  popular  rights,  opened  paths 
of  Christian  intercourse  with  each  other  through 
the  avenues  of  commerce,  enlarged  the  circles  and 
elevated  the  mission  of  learning  and  art,  and 
hemmed  in  the  great  middle  sea  of  antiquity  with 
a  myriad  of  commercial  establishments,  that  mark  in 
succession  the  culmination  and  decline  of  the  power 
of  Phoenicians,  Greeks,  Carthaginians,  Romans,  and 
Venitians.  It  was  there .  that  civilization  found  its 
earliest  and  freest  development,  and  from  them  we 
have  derived  much  if  not  "  all  that  hitherto  has 
dignified  human  existence,  —  our  arts,  our  arms,  our 
letters,  and  our  religion."  Among  the  proudest  of 
these,  the  city  you  represent,  and  which  this  day 
celebrates  its  two  hundred  and  twenty-ninth  anni- 


21 


versary,  may  without  shame  enrol  its  name  and 
record  its  deeds.  In  patriotism,  in  arms,  in  enter- 
prise, in  invention,  in  art,  in  letters,  in  eloquence,  in 
beauty,  in  love  of  regulated  liberty,  the  animating 
scene  we  this  day  witness,  the  voice  we  shall  hear, 
the  history  we  recall,  the  future  we  anticipate,  em- 
bolden us  to  proclaim  that  the  proudest  of  Phoeni- 
cian or  Grecian  cities  contributed  not  more  to  the 
renown  of  ancient  history  than  the  metropolis  of 
Massachusetts  to  the  higher  and  nobler  cause  of 
American  civilization. 

She  was  among  the  first  to  recognize  the  institu- 
tion of  the  Jury  as  a  basis  of  popular  government; 
to  protest  against  slavery  and  the  slave  trade ;  to 
establish  printing  presses,  and  to  support  public  jour- 
nals ;  to  denounce  the  tyranny .  of  England,  and  to 
indicate  resistance  to  her  government.  Her  sons 
were  the  proscribed  men  of  the  colonies.  Her  name 
was  a  synonym  for  rebellion  in  the  early  days  of 
the  Revolution,  and  represented  the  American  cause 
in  the  Courts  of  Europe,  as  Greece  might  have 
been  represented  by  Athens,  or  the  Roman  Empire 
by  the  "  eternal  city."  No  municipality  was  ever 
more  bounteous  in  her  charities,  or  in  the  support 
of  the  twin  causes  of  Education  and  Christianity. 
She  drew  to  her  shores  the  first  steam  vessel  that 
crossed  the  Atlantic,  and  the  largest  sailing  ship 
that  ever  rode  upon  the  waters  floated  from  her 


22 


docks.  With  a  territory  of  less  than  two  thousand 
acres  originally,  an  area  not  so  large  as  the  home- 
farm  of  the  great  man  whose  memory  we  now  com- 
memorate, it  has  become  the  second  commercial 
city  of  the  American  Continent.  It  has  helped  to 
stretch  inland  the  interminable  chain  of  railways 
that  binds  together  all  parts  of  the  country.  It  has 
never  faltered  in  its  duty  to  the  government,  nor 
in  its  allegiance  to  the  Union.  It  has  yet  stronger 
claim  to  our  respect.  Her  sons  and  daughters  never 
lose  affection  for  their  native  city,  but  carry  with 
them  to  the  ends  of  the  earth,  and  to  the  grave 
itself,  the  tender  attachments  that  animate  offspring 
and  parent. 

I  am  happy,  also,  to  participate  with  you  in  the 
commemoration  of  the  day  of  its  nativity  by  the 
inauguration  of  a  statue  to  the  memory  of  Mr.  Web- 
ster, so  long  one  of  its  most  distinguished  citizens; 
who  so  long  represented  the  Commonwealth  in 
Congress  and  the  Cabinet ;  to  whose  name,  in  a 
period  of  public  peril,  by  universal  consent,  was 
added  the  title  —  Defender  of  the  Constitution ; 
whose  love  of  the  union  of  States  so  colored  his 
opinions  and  his  life,  and  whose  fame  as  a  jurist 
and  orator  adds  lustre  to  American  jurisprudence 
and  American  eloquence. 

He  was  in  the  service  of  the  people  of  Massachu- 
setts and  of  the  Union  for  an  uninterrupted  term 


23 


of  thirty  years,  quite  reaching  the  period  of  his 
death.  He  identified  himself  by  important  services 
with  the  reorganization  of  the  constitutional  law  of 
the  State ;  with  the  statutes  relating  to  criminal 
jurisprudence  ;  to  the  currency,  commerce,  naviga- 
tion and  manufactures  of  the  Union ;  harmonizing 
by  just  interpretation,  at  the  Bar,  in  the  Senate  and 
the  Cabinet,  its  constitutional  and  congressional 
enactments  with  conflicting  State  constitutions  and 
State  legislation.  In  some  respects,  his  services  of 
this  character  have  been  rarely  equalled,  and  never 
surpassed.  It  is  not  the  fortune  of  men,  neither 
of  rulers  nor  of  servants,  always  to  receive  instan- 
taneous or  universal  approval  in  all  public  acts. 
The  higher  the  occasion,  the  weightier  the  act,  the 
more  certain  is  the  conflict  of  interest  and  opinion. 
Nature  speaks  through  such  diversities  of  education 
and  constitution,  by  such  varied  personal  experi- 
ences, that  it  is  enough,  and  only  such  success  as 
the  greatest  men  attain,  if  they  are  able  to  stamp 
upon  the  body  of  the  age  in  which  they  live  the 
form  and  pressure  of  their  own  opinions ;  to  connect 
the  present  with  the  future,  through  the  silent 
but  far-reaching  influence  of  their  own  passionate 
emotion  or  uncompromising  reason.  In  this,  Mr. 
Webster  was  unlike  and  greater  than  most  men  of 
any  age.  His  character  is  impressed,  to  an  extent 


24 


rarely  equalled,  upon  the  manners,  language,  ideas, 
legislation,  and  constitutional  lore  of  his  time. 

The  people  of  the  Union  will  cherish  their  rec- 
ollections of  him  as  one  of  the  grand  representa- 
tives of  American  intellect  and  character.  New 
England  will  be  proud  of  his  birth  and  his  honors; 
Massachusetts  of  his  identification  with  her  history. 
Over  his  grave  they  will  discontinue  the  controver- 
sies connected  with  his  life,  remembering  the  broad- 
hearted  and  reverential  love  he  bore  his  country 
and  its  people,  and  gather  lessons  of  wisdom  from 
his  career.  Every  breeze  that  sweeps  from  the 
south,  over  the  haven  of  the  Pilgrims,  from  his  tomb 
by  the  sad-sounding  sea,  will  be  forever  sharpened 
by  a  poignant  regret,  will  be  forever  freighted  with 
a  weighty  admonition  to  the  youth  of  our  land, 
that  in  the  contests  of  men  concession  does  not 
always  secure  peace. 

It  is  fit  that  for  such  men  monuments  of  bronze 
or  marble  should  be  planted  upon  the  foundations 
of  the  earth.  They  are  the  landmarks  of  the  ages. 
They  represent  the  transitions  of  thought,  the  con- 
quests of  experiment.  It  is  from  such  men  that 
students  of  history,  doubting  mariners  on  the  sea 
of  time,  take  new  observations,  and  "thence  make 
progression." 

In  a  life  of  threescore  and  ten  years  of  great 
activity,  encountering  in  hot  contests  the  advocates 


25 


and  assailants  of  all  social  and  political  problems 
of  the  time,  treating  all  with  distinguished  ability, 
and  encountering  many  with  extraordinary  manifes- 
tations of  power,  it  is  apparent  that  different  im- 
pressions as  to  his  character  will  have  been  made 
upon  different  generations  of  men.  It  is  a  question 
of  some  interest  which  of  the  generations  partici- 
pating in  a  life  like  Mr.  Webster's  shall  claim  the 
privilege  of  indicating  'its  leading  characteristics, 
and  to  which  belongs  the  right  to  demand  that  its 
personification  in  bronze  or  marble  shall  conform 
to  the  image  impressed  upon  its  own  faculty  of 
observation.  The.  response  must  be  different,  as  it 
is  applied  to  different  men.  Precocity  of  intellect 
would  indicate  the  period  of  youth  as  the  proper 
era  for  delineation.  Age  alone  could  represent  a 
life  whose  honors  rested  upon  accumulation.  But 
for  a  life  signalized  by  impetuous  and  heroic  achieve- 
ment, no  representation  satisfies  enlightened  curi- 
osity unless  it  be  of  that  period  made  illustrious  by 
startling  manifestations  of  power.  It  is  as  Cromwell 
appeared  at  Marston  Moor,  or  Naseby,  to  the  rapt 
vision  of  a  squadron  of  the  Ironsides,  that  he  should 
be  represented.  Our  conception  of  Wellington  is 
as  he  conquered  at  Waterloo,  and  not  as  he  died 
at  Apsley  House :  of  Napoleon,  as  he  appeared  in 
the  eyes  of  the  Old  Guard  at  Austerlitz  or  Marengo, 
and  not  as  in  his  controversies  with  Sir  Hudson 


26 


Lowe  at  St.  Helena :  of  Washington,  as  he  looked 
to  the  Sons  of  Liberty,  when  in  the  darkest  hours 
of  the  Revolution,  with  more  than  Napoleonic  vigor, 
he  stormed  the  lines  of  British  troops,  or  with  higher 
patriotism  than  that  of  Greek  or  Roman  fame, 
in  the  zenith  of  his  power,  he  surrendered  at  An- 
iiapolis  his  commission  as  Commander-in-chief  of  the 
American  army.  I 

Heroic  characters  may  rightly  demand  so  much 
as  this.  It  is  ill  content  with  the  portraiture  that 
satisfied  Cromwell  —  who  demanded  a  representation 
of  personal  and  physical  deformities  —  and  seeks 
the  elevation,  the  idealization  of  •  an  artistic,  devo- 
tionalistic  conception. 

Such  seems  to  me  to  be  the  Statue  that  the 
distinguished  American  artist  has  presented.  It  is 
Webster  in  the  pride  of  intellect,  the  plenitude  of 
power,  who  at  Plymouth  portrayed  the  results  of 
Puritan  civilization  in  the  New  World,  and  .hurled 
Demosthenic  anathemas  at  the  reviving  slave  trade. 
It  is  the  Senator  who  described,  as  language  of 
description  was  never  before  used,  the  military  power 
of  Great  Britain.  It  is  the  orator  who  felt  that 
he  could  speak  for  all  the  receding  and  advancing 
generations :  who  imprinted  upon  every  American 
heart,  in  a  burst  of  forensic  eloquence  that  has  no 
fellow  in  the  Saxon  language,  a  triumphant  vindica- 
tion of  the  honor  of  Massachusetts,  and  wrought  a 


27 


conviction  in  all  hearts  of  the  inseparable  natures 
of  Liberty  and  Union !  It  is  him !  ah  him !  as  he 
looked  —  as  he  lived  —  as  we  might  desire  him  to  be 
represented  —  as  he  might  wish  to  be  remembered. 
As  such  I  accept  the  Statue  at  your  hands,  Mr. 
Mayor,  in  the  name  of  the  people,  and  shall  ask  for 
it  the  protection  of  the  Commonwealth  of  Massa- 
chusetts. May  it  stand  upon  its  firmly  planted 
pedestal  as  long  as  monuments  shall  stand,  until 
the  earth  crumble,  and  the  dome  and  column  of  the 
Capitol  mingle  in  the  dust  together.  May  it  every 
day  in  the  year,  and  every  hour  in  the  day,  incite 
youth  and  age  to  a  love  of  country  and  of  liberty. 
May  it  stimulate  a  patriotic  public  taste  in  works 
of  art,  until  the  public  grounds  of  State  and  City 
shall  smile  with  the  effigies  of  the  worthiest  sons 
and  daughters  of  the  Commonwealth,  whether  it  be 
of  the  founders  of  States,  like  Winthrop ;  of  those 
who  meet  death  in  the  column  of  battle,  like  War- 
ren ;  of  the  princes  of  the  forum,  like  Choate ;  or 
who,  like  Mann,  sink  sweetly  into  the  sleep  of  a 
better  life,  overtasked  in  the  work  of  training  the 
youthful  mind  to  a  full  appreciation  of  the  grandeur 
of  its  mission  and  power. 


The  following  Eulogy  was  then  pronounced  by  Mr.  Everett;  considerable  portions, 
however,  being  omitted  in  the  delivery,  in  consequence  of  its  length. 


EULOGY. 


MAY  IT  PLEASE  YOUR  EXCELLENCY: 

ON  behalf  of  those  by  whose  contributions  the 
Statue  of  Mr.  Webster  has  been  procured,  and  of 
the  Committee  entrusted  with  the  care  of  its  erec- 
tion, it  is  my  pleasing  duty  to  return  to  you,  and 
through  you  to  the  Legislature  of  the  Common- 
wealth, our  dutiful  acknowledgments  for  the  per- 
mission kindly  accorded  to  us,  to  place  the  statue 
in  the  Public  Grounds.  We  feel,  sir,  that  in  allow- 
ing this  monumental  work  to  be  erected  in  front 
of  the  Capitol  of  the  State,  a  distinguished  honor 
has  been  paid  to  the  memory  of  Mr.  Webster. 

To  you,  sir,  in  particular,  whose  influence  was 
liberally  employed  to  bring  about  this  result,  and 
whose  personal  attendance  and  participation  have 
added  so  much  to  the  interest  of  the  day,  we  are 
under  the  highest  obligations. 

To  you,  also,  Mr.  Mayor,  and  to  the  City  Council, 
we  return  our  cordial  thanks  for  your  kind  consent 
to  act  on  our  behalf,  in  delivering  this  cherished 
memorial  of  our  honored  fellow-citizen  into  the  cus- 


30 


tody  of  the   Commonwealth,  and  for   your  sympathy 
and   assistance   in   the   duties   of   the   occasion. 

To  you,  our  distinguished  guests,  and  to  you, 
fellow-citizens  of  either  sex,  who  come  to  unite  with 
us  in  rendering  these  monumental  honors,  who  adorn 
the  occasion  with  your  presence,  and  cheer  us  with 
your  countenance  and  favor,  we  tender  a  respectful 
and  grateful  welcome. 

The  inclemency  of  the  .weather  has  made  a  change 
in  our  arrangements  for  your  reception  necessary, 
and  compelled  us  to  flee  from  the  public  grounds 
to  this  spacious  hall.  But  we  will  not  murmur  at 
this  slight  inconvenience.  We  are  not  the  only 
children  for  whom  the  Universal  Parent  cares.  The 
rain,  which  has  incommoded  and  disappointed  us,  is 
most  welcome  to  the  husbandman  and  the  farmer. 
It  will  yield  their  last  fulness  to  the  maturing 
fruits  and  grains;  it  will  clothe  the  parched  fields 
with  autumnal  verdure,  and  revive  the  failing  pas- 
turage; it  will  replenish  the  exhausted  springs,  and 
thus  promote  the  comfort  of  beast  and  of  man. 
We  have  no  reason  to  lament  that  while,  with  these 
simple  ceremonies,  we  dedicate  the  statue  of  Daniel 
Webster  within  these  walls,  the  work  of  human  hands, 
the  genial  skies  are  baptizing  it  with  gentle  showers, 
beneath  the  arch  of  heaven. 

It  has  been  the  custom,  from  the  remotest  an- 
tiquity, to  preserve  and  to  hand  down  to  posterity, 


in  bronze  and  in  marble,  the  counterfeit  presentment 
of  illustrious  men.  Within  the  last  few  years,  mod- 
ern research  has  brought  to  light,  on  the  banks  of 
the  Tigris,  huge  slabs  of  alabaster,  buried  for  ages, 
which  exhibit  in  relief  the  faces  and  the  persons 
of  men  who  governed  the  primeval  East  in  the 
gray  dawn  of  history.  Three  thousand  years  have 
elapsed  since  they  lived  and  reigned,  and  built  pal- 
aces, and  fortified  cities,  and  waged  war,  and  gained 
victories,  of  which  the  trophies  are  carved  upon 
these  monumental  tablets, — the  triumphal  procession, 
the  chariots  laden  with  spoil,  the  drooping  captive, 
the  conquered  monarch  in  chains, — but  the  legends 
inscribed  upon  the  stone  are  imperfectly  deciphered, 
and  little  beyond  the  names  of  the  personages  and 
the  most  general  tradition  of  their  exploits  is  pre- 
served. In  like  manner  the  obelisks  and  the  temples 
of  ancient  Egypt  are  covered  with  the  sculptured 
images  of  whole  dynasties  of  Pharaohs, — older  than 
Moses,  older  than  Joseph, —  whose  titles  are  recorded 
in  the  hieroglyphics,  with  which  the  granite  is 
charged,  and  which  are  gradually  yielding  up  their 
long  concealed  mysteries  to  the  sagacity  of  modern 
criticism.  The  plastic  arts,  as  they  passed  into  Hel- 
las, with  all  the  other  arts  which  give  grace  and 
dignity  to  our  nature,  reached  a  perfection  unknown 
to  Egypt  or  Assyria;  and  the  heroes  and  sages  of 
Greece  and  Rome,  immortalized  by  the  sculptor,  still 


32 


people  the  galleries  and  museums  of  the  modern 
world.  In  every  succeeding  age,  and  in  every 
country  in  which  the  fine  arts  have  been  cultivated, 
the  respect  and  affection  of  survivors  have  found  a 
pure  and  rational  gratification  in  the  historical  por- 
trait and  the  monumental  statue  of  the  honored 
and  loved  in  private  life,  and  especially  of  the  great 
and  good  who  have  deserved  well  of  their  country. 
Public  esteem  and  confidence  and  private  affection, 
the  gratitude  of  the  community  and  the  fond  mem- 
ories of  the  fireside,  have  ever  sought,  in  this  way, 
to  prolong  the  sensible  existence  of  their  beloved 
and  respected  objects.  What,  though  the  dear  and 
honored  features  and  person,  on  which,  while  living, 
we  never  gazed  without  tenderness  or  veneration, 
have  been  taken  from  us; — something  of  the  love- 
liness, something  of  the  majesty  abides  in  the  por- 
trait, the  bust,  and  the  statue.  The  heart,  bereft  of 
the  living  originals,  turns  to  them,  and  cold  and  silent 
as  they  are,  they  strengthen  and  animate  the  cher- 
ished recollections  of  the  loved,  the  honored,  and 
the  lost 

The  skill  of  the  painter  and  sculptor  which  thus 
comes  in  aid  of  the  memory  and  imagination,  is,  in 
its  highest  degree,  one  of  the  rarest,  as  it  is  one 
of  the  most  exquisite  accomplishments  within  our 
attainment,  and  in  its  perfection  as  seldom  witnessed 
as  the  perfection  of  speech  or  of  music.  The  plas- 


33 


tic  hand  must  be  moved  by  the  same  ethereal  in- 
stinct as  the  eloquent  lips  or  the  recording  pen. 
The  number  of  those  who,  in  the  language  of  Mi- 
chael Angelo,  can  discern  the  finished  statue  in  the 
heart  of  the  shapeless  block,  and  bid  it  start  into 
artistic  life, — who  are  endowed  with  the  exquisite 
gift  of  moulding  the  rigid  bronze  or  the  lifeless 
marble  into  graceful,  majestic,  and  expressive  forms, 
is  not  greater  than  the  number  of  those  who  are 
able,  with  equal  majesty,  grace,  and  expressiveness, 
to  make  the  spiritual  essence, — the  finest  shades  of 
thought  and  feeling, —  sensible  to  the  mind,  through 
the  eye  and  the  ear,  in  the  mysterious  embodiment 
of  the  written  and  the  spoken  word.  If  Athens 
in  her  palmiest  days  had  but  one  Pericles;  she  had 
also  but  one  Phidias. 

Nor  are  these  beautiful  and  noble  arts,  by  which 
the  face  and  the  form  of  the  departed  are  pre- 
served to  us, — calling  into  the  highest  exercise  as 
they  do  all  the  imitative  and  idealizing  powers  of 
the  painter  and  sculptor,  —  the  least  instructive  of 
our  teachers.  The  portraits  and  the  statues  of  the 
honored  dead,  kindle  the  generous  ambition  of  the 
youthful  aspirant  to  fame.  Themistocles  could  not 
sleep  for  the  trophies  in  the  Ceramicus;  and  when 
the  living  Demosthenes  to  whom  you,  sir,  (Mr.  Fel- 
ton,)  have  alluded,  had  ceased  to  speak,  the  stony 
lips  remained  to  rebuke  and  exhort  his  degenerate 


34 


countrymen.  More  than  a  hundred  years  have 
elapsed  since  the  great  Newton  passed  away;  but 
from  age  to  age  his  statue  by  Koubillac,  in  the 
ante-chapel  of  Trinity  College,  will  give  distinctness 
to  the  conceptions  formed  of  him  by  hundreds  and 
thousands  of  ardent  youthful  spirits,  filled  with  rev- 
erence for  that  transcendent  intellect  which,  from 
the  phenomena  that  fall  within  our  limited  vision, 
deduced  the  imperial  law  by  which  the  Sovereign 
Mind  rules  the  entire  universe.  We  can  never  look 
on  the  person  of  Washington,  but  his  serene  and 
noble  countenance,  perpetuated  by  the  pencil  and 
the  chisel,  is  familiar  to  far  greater  multitudes  than 
ever  stood  in  his  living  presence,  and  will  be  thus 
familiar  to  the  latest  generation. 

What  parent,  as  he  conducts  his  son  to  Mount 
Auburn  or  to  Bunker  Hill,  will  not,  as  he  pauses 
before  their  monumental  statues,  seek  to  heighten 
his  reverence  for  virtue,  for  patriotism,  for  science, 
for  learning,  for  devotion  to  the  public  good,  as  he 
bids  him  contemplate  the  form  of  that  grave  and 
venerable  Winthrop,  who  left  his  pleasant  home  in 
England  to  come  and  found  a  new  republic  in  this 
untrodden  wilderness;  of  that  ardent  and  intrepid 
Otis,  who  first  struck  out  the  spark  of  American 
independence ;  of  that  noble  Adams,  its  most  elo- 
quent champion  on  the  floor  of  Congress;  of  that 
martyr  Warren,  who  laid  down  his  life  in  its  de- 


35 


fence;  of  that  self-taught  Bowditch,  who,  without  a 
guide,  threaded  the  starry  mazes  of  the  heavens; 
of  that  Story,  honored  at  home  and  abroad  as  one 
of  the  brightest  luminaries  of  the  law,  and,  by  a 
felicity  of  which  I  believe  there  is  no  other  example, 
admirably  portrayed  in  marble  by  his  son  ?  What 
citizen  of  Boston,  as  he  accompanies  the  stranger 
around  our  streets,  guiding  him  through  our  busy 
thoroughfares,  to  our  wharfs,  crowded  with  vessels 
which  range  every  sea  and  gather  the  produce  of 
every  climate,  up  to  the  dome  of  this  capitol,  which 
commands  as  lovely  a  landscape  as  can  delight  the 
eye  or  gladden  the  heart,  will  not,  as  he  calls  his 
attention  at  last  to  the  statues  of  Franklin  and 
Webster,  exclaim: — "Boston  takes  pride  in  her  nat- 
ural position,  she  rejoices  in  her  beautiful  environs, 
she  is  grateful  for  her  material  prosperity ;  but  richer 
than  the  merchandise  stored  in  palatial  warehouses, 
greener  than  the  slopes  of  sea-girt  islets,  lovelier 
than  this  encircling  panorama  of  land  and  sea.  of 
field  and  hamlet,  of  lake  and  stream,  of  garden  and 
grove,  is  the  memory  of  her  sons,  native  and  adopted ; 
the  character,  services  and  fame  of  those  who  have 
benefited  and  adorned  their  day  and  generation. 
Our  children,  and  the  schools  at  which  they  are 
trained,  our  citizens,  and  the  services  they  have  ren- 
dered:—  these  are  our  monuments,  these  are  our 
jewels,  these  our  abiding  treasures." 


36 


Yes,  your  long  rows  of  quarried  granite,  may 
crumble  to  the  dust ;  the  cornfields  in  yonder  vil- 
lages, ripening  to  the  sickle,  may,  like  the  plains  of 
stricken  Lombardy,  a  few  weeks  ago,  be  kneaded 
into  bloody  clods  by  the  madding  wheels  of  artil- 
lery; this  populous  city,  like  the  old  cities  of 
Etruria  and  the  Campagna  Komana,  may  be  deso- 
lated by  the  pestilence  which  walketh  in  darkness, 
may  decay  with  the  lapse  of  time,  and  the  busy 
mart,  which  now  rings  with  the  joyous  din  of 
trade,  become  as  lonely  and  still  as  Carthage  or 
Tyre,  as  Babylon  and  Nineveh ;  but  the  names  of 
the  great  and  good  shall  survive  the  desolation 
and  the  ruin ;  the  memory  of  the  wise,  the  brave, 
the  patriotic,  shall  never  perish.  Yes,  Sparta  is  a 
wheat-field :  —  a  Bavarian  prince  holds  court  at  the 
foot  of  the  Acropolis ;  —  the  travelling  virtuoso  digs 
for  marbles  in  the  Roman  Forum  and  beneath  the 
ruins  of  the  temple  of  Jupiter  Capitolinus ;  but 
Lycurgus  and  Leonidas,  and  Miltiades  and  Demos- 
thenes, and  Cato  and  Tully  "  still  live " ;  and  HE 
still  lives,  and  all  the  great  and  good  shall  live  in 
the  heart  of  ages,  while  marble  and  bronze  shall 
endure ;  and  when  marble  and  bronze  have  per- 
ished, they  shall  "still  live"  in  memory,  so  long  as 
men  shall  reverence  Law,  and  honor  Patriotism, 
and  love  Liberty. 


37 


EULOGIES    AT   THE    TIME    OF   MR.    WEBSTER  S    DECEASE. 

Seven  years,  within  a  few  weeks,  have  passed 
since  he,  whose  statue  we  inaugurate  to-day,  was 
taken  from  us.  The  voice  of  respectful  and  affec- 
tionate eulogy,  which  was  uttered  in  this  vicinity 
and  city  at  the  time,  was  promptly  echoed  through- 
out the  country.  The  tribute  paid  to  his  memory, 
by  friends,  neighbors,  and  fellow-citizens,  was  re- 
sponded to  from  the  remotest  corners  of  the  Republic 
by  those  who  never  gazed  on  his  noble  countenance, 
or  listened  to  the  deep  melody  of  his  voice.  This 
city,  which  in  early  manhood  he  chose  for  his 
home;  his  associates  in  the  honorable  profession  of 
which  he  rose  to  be  the  acknowledged  head  ;  the  law 
school  of  the  neighboring  university  speaking  by 
the  lips  of  one  so  well  able  to  do  justice  to  his 
legal  preeminence ;  the  college  at  which  he  was 
educated  and  whose  chartered  privileges  he  had 
successfully  maintained  before  the  highest  tribunal 
of  the  country;  with  other  bodies  and  other  eulo- 
gists, at  the  bar,  in  the  pulpit,  and  on  the  platform, 
throughout  the  Union,  in  numbers,  greater  I  believe 
than  have  ever  spoken  on  any  other  similar  occa- 
sion, except  that  of  the  death  of  Washington, 
joined  with  the  almost  unanimous  Press  of  the 
country,  in  one  chorus  of  admiration  of  his  talents, 


38 


recognition  of  his  patriotic  services,  and  respect  and 
affection  for  his  memory. 

Nor  have  these  offerings  been  made  at  his  tomb 
alone.  Twice  or  thrice  since  his  death,  once  within 
a  few  months. — the  anniversary  of  his  birthday,  has 
called  forth,  at  the  table  of  patriotic  festivity,  the 
voice  of  fervid  eulogy  and  affectionate  commemo- 

O*/ 

ration.  In  this  way  and  on  these  occasions,  his 
character  has  been  delineated  by  those  best  able 
to  do  justice  to  his  powers  and  attainments,  to  ap- 
preciate his  services,  to  take  the  measure,  if  I  may 
so  say,  of  his  colossal  mental  stature.  Without 
going  beyond  this  immediate  neighborhood,  and  in 
no  degree  ungrateful  for  the  liberality  or  insensible 
to  the  ability  with  which  he  has  been  eulogized  in 
other  parts  of  the  country,  what  need  be  said,  what 
can  be  said  in  the  hearing  of  those  who  have  lis- 
tened to  Hillard,  to  Chief  Justice  Parker,  to  Gush- 
ing, and  to  our  lamented  Choate,  whose  discourse 
on  Mr.  Webster  at  Dartmouth  College  appears  to 
me  as  magnificent  a  eulogium  as  was  ever  pro- 
nounced ? 

What  can  be  said  that  has  not  been  better  said 
before ;  —  what  need  be  said  now  that  seven  added 
years  in  the  political  progress  of  the  country,  seven 
years  of  respectful  and  affectionate  recollection  on 
the  part  of  those  who  now  occupy  the  stage,  have 
confirmed  his  title  to  the  large  place,  which,  while 


39 


he   lived,  he   filled   in   the   public  mind  ?     While   he 
yet   bore   a   part  in   the   councils   of  the    Union,   he 
shared   the   fate    which,   in    all    countries,  and   espe- 
cially   in     all     free    countries,    awaits    commanding 
talent  and  eminent  position: — which  no  great  man 
in  our  history, — not  Washington  himself, — has  ever 
escaped ;    which    none   can    escape,    but    those   who 
are    too    feeble    to    provoke    opposition,   too   obscure 
for  jealousy.     But  now  that  he  has  rested  for  years 
in   his   honored   grave,  what   generous  nature  is  not 
pleased   to    strew   flowers   on   the    sod  ?      What   hon- 
orable   opponent,   still    faithful    to    principle,    is    not 
willing    that    all    in    which    he    differed    from    him 
should    be    referred,   without    bitterness,   to    the   im- 
partial  arbitrament   of   time ;    and    that   all   that   he 
respected    and    loved    should    be    cordially    remem- 
bered ?      What    public    man,    especially    who,    with 
whatever   differences  of  judgment   of  men   or   meas- 
ures,  has    borne   on    his   own   shoulders    the   heavy 
burden   of   responsibility,  —  who    has    felt    how   hard 
it    is,   in    the  larger   complications  of    affairs,   at    all 
times,   to    meet    the    expectations   of    an    intelligent 
and   watchful,   but    impulsive    and    not    always   thor- 
oughly   instructed    public ;    how    difficult    sometimes 
to   satisfy   his   own   judgment,  —  is   not   willing   that 
the  noble  qualities  and  patriotic  services  of  Webster 
should   be   honorably   recorded   in   the   book   of   the 
country's    remembrance,   and    his    statue   set    up   in 
the  Pantheon  of  her  illustrious  sons  ? 


40 


POSTHUMOUS     HONORS. 

These  posthumous  honors  lovingly  paid  to  de- 
parted worth  are  among  the  compensations,  which 
a  kind  Providence  vouchsafes,  for  the  unavoidable 
conflicts  of  judgment  and  stern  collisions  of  party, 
which  make  the  political  career  always  arduous, 
even  when  pursued  with  the  greatest  success,  gen- 
erally precarious,  sometimes  destructive  of  health 
and  even  of  life.  It  is  impossible  under  free  govern- 
ments to  prevent  the  existence  of  party ;  not  less 
impossible  that  parties  should  be  conducted  with 
spirit  and  vigor,  without  more  or  less  injustice  done 
and  suffered,  more  or  less  gross  uncharitableness  and 
bitter  denunciation.  Besides,  with  the  utmost  effort 
at  impartiality,  it  is  not  within  the  competence  of 
our  frail  capacities  to  do  full  justice  at  the  time 
to  a  character  of  varied  and  towering  greatness, 
engaged  in  an  active  and  responsible  political  career. 
The  truth  of  his  principles,  the  wisdom  of  his  coun- 
sels, the  value  of  his  services  must  be  seen  in  their 
fruits,  and  the  richest  fruits  are  not  those  of  the 
most  rapid  growth.  The  wisdom  of  antiquity  pro- 
nounced that  no  one  was  to  be  deemed  happy  until 
after  death;  not  merely  because  he  was  then  first 
placed  beyond  the  vicissitudes  of  human  fortune,  but 
because  then  only  the  rival  interests,  the  discordant 
judgments,  the  hostile  passions  of  contemporaries 


41 


are,  in  ordinary  cases,  no  longer  concerned  to  ques- 
tion his  merits.  Horace,  with  gross  adulation,  sang 
to  his  imperial  master,  Augustus,  that  he  alone  of 
the  great  of  the  earth  ever  received  while  living 
the  full  meed  of  praise.  All  the  other  great  bene- 
factors of  mankind,  the  inventors  of  arts,  the  de- 
stroyers of  monsters,  the  civilizers  of  states,  found 
by  experience  that  hatred  and  envy  were  appeased 
by  death  alone.* 

That  solemn  event  which  terminates  the  material 
existence,  becomes  by  the  sober  revisions  of  contempo- 
rary judgment,  aided  by  offices  of  respectful  and  affec- 
tionate commemoration,  the  commencement  of  a  nobler 
life  on  earth.  The  wakeful  eyes  are  closed,  the  feverish 
pulse  is  still,  the  tired  and  trembling  limbs  are  relieved 
from  their  labors,  and  the  aching  head  is  laid  to  rest  on 
the  lap  of  its  mother  earth ;  but  all  that  we  honored 
and  loved  in  the  living  man  begins  to  live  again  in  a 
new  and  higher  being  of  influence  and  fame.  It  was 
given  but  to  a  limited  number  to  listen  to  the  living 
voice,  and  they  can  never  listen  to  it  again,  but  the 
wise  teachings,  the  grave  admonitions,  the  patriotic 
exhortations  which  fell  from  his  tongue,  will  be  gath- 
ered together  and  garnered  up  in  the  memory  of 
millions.  The  cares,  the  toils,  the  sorrows;  the  con- 
flicts with  others,  the  conflicts  of  the  fervent  spirit  with 

*  Comperit  invidiam  supremo  fine  domari. 


42 

itself;  the  sad  accidents  of  humanity,  the  fears  of  the 
brave,  the  follies  of  the  wise,  the  errors  of  the  learned  ; 
all  that  dashed  the  cup  of  enjoyment  with  bitter  drops, 
and  strewed  sorrowful  ashes  over  the  beauty  of  expec- 
tation and  promise  ;  the  treacherous  friend,  the  ungen- 
erous rival,  the  mean  and  malignant  foe  ;  the  unchari- 
table prejudice  which  withheld  the  just  tribute  of 
praise  ;  the  human  frailty  which  wove  sharp  thorns  into 
the  wreath  of  solid  merit; — all  these,  in  ordinary  cases, 
are  buried  in  the  grave  of  the  illustrious  dead  ;  while 
their  brilliant  talents,  their  deeds  of  benevolence  and 
public  spirit,  their  wise  and  eloquent  words,  their 
healing  counsels,  their  generous  affections,  the  whole 
man,  in  short,  whom  we  revered  and  loved,  and  would 
fain  imitate,  especially  when  his  image  is  impressed 
upon  our  recollections  by  the  pencil  or  the  chisel,  goes 
forth  to  the  admiration  of  the  latest  posterity.  Ex- 
tinctus  amabUur  idem. 

THE     OBSEQUIES     OF    MR.    CHOATE. 

Our  city  has  lately  witnessed  a  most  beautiful 
instance  of  this  reanimating  power  of  death.  A  few 
weeks  since,  we  followed  towards  the  tomb  the  lifeless 
remains  of  our  lamented  Choate.  Well  may  we  conse- 
crate a  moment,  even  of  this  hour,  to  him  who,  in  that 
admirable  discourse  to  which  I  have  already  alluded, 
did  such  noble  justice  to  himself  and  the  great  subject 


43 


of  his  eulogy.  A  short  time  before  the  decease  of  our 
much  honored  friend,  I  had  seen  him  shattered  by 
disease,  his  all-persuasive  voice  faint  and  languid,  his 
beaming  eye  quenched ;  and  as  he  left  us  in  search 
of  health  in  a  foreign  clime,  a  painful  image  and  a 
sad  foreboding,  too  soon  fulfilled,  dwelt  upon  my 
mind.  But  on  the  morning  of  the  day  when  we 
were  to  pay  the  last  mournful  offices  to  our  friend, 
the  23d  of  July,  with  a  sad,  let  me  not  say  a  repining, 
thought,  that  so  much  talent,  so  much  learning,  so 
much  eloquence,  so  much  wit,  so  much  wisdom,  so 
much  force  of  intellect,  so  much  kindness  of  heart, 
were  taken  from  us,  an  engraved  likeness  of  him 
was  brought  to  me,  in  which  he  seemed  to  live  again. 
The  shadows  of  disease  and  suffering  had  passed 
from  the  brow,  the  well-remembered  countenance  was 
clothed  with  its  wonted  serenity,  a  cheerful  smile 
lighted  up  the  features,  genius  kindled  in  the  eye, 
persuasion  hovered  over  the  lips,  and  I  felt  as  if  I 
was  going  not  to  his  funeral  but  his  triumph. 
"  Weep  not  for  me,"  it  seemed  to  say,  "  but  weep 
for  yourselves."  And  never,  while  he  dwelt  among 
us  in  the  feeble  tabernacle  of  the  flesh ;  never  while 
the  overtasked  spirit  seemed  to  exhaust  the  delicate 
frame  in  which  it  sojourned  ;  never  as  I  had  listened 
to  the  melody  of  his  living  voice,  did  he  speak  to 
my  imagination  and  heart  with  such  a  touching 
though  silent  eloquence,  as  when  we  followed  his 


44 


hearse  along  these  streets,  that  bright  midsummer's 
noon,  up  the  via  sacra  in  front  of  this  capitol,  slowly 
moving  to  the  solemn  beat  of  grand  dead  marches, 
as  they  rose  and  swelled  from  wailing  clarion  and 
muffled  drum,  while  the  minute-guns  from  yonder 
lawn  responded  to  the  passing  bell  from  yonder 
steeple.  I  then  understood  the  sublime  significance 
of  the  words  which  Cicero  puts  into  the  mouth  of 
Cato,  that  the  mind,  elevated  to  the  foresight  of  pos- 
terity, when  departing  from  this  life,  begins  at  length 
to  live  ;  yea,  the  sublimer  words  of  a  greater  than 
Cicero,  "  0  death,  where  is  thy  sting  ?  0  grave, 
where  is  thy  victory?"  And  then,  as  we  passed  the 
abodes  of  those  whom  he  knew,  and  honored  and 
loved,  and  who  had  gone  before ;  of  Lawrence  here 
on  the  left;  of  Prescott  yonder  on  the  right;  this 
home  where  Hancock  lived  and  Washington  was 
received ;  this  where  Lafayette  sojourned ;  this  cap- 
itol,  where  his  own  political  course  began,  and  on 
which  so  many  patriotic  memories  are  concentrated, 
I  felt,  not  as  if  we  were  conducting  another  frail  and 
weary  body  to  the  tomb,  but  as  if  we  were  escorting 
a  noble  brother  to  the  congenial  company  of  the 
departed  great  and  good ;  and  I  was  ready  myself  to 
exclaim,  "  0  prceclarum  diem,  cum  ad  ittud  divinum  ani- 
monim  conciUum  ccetumque  profisciscar,  ciimque  ex  Iiac  turba 
et  coUuvwne  discedam" 


45 


THE     PERIOD     IN     WHICH     MR.    WEBSTER     LIVED. 

It  will  not,  I  think,  be  expected  of  me  to  under- 
take the  superfluous  task  of  narrating  in  great  detail 
the  well-known  events  of  Mr.  Webster's  life,  or  of 
attempting  an  elaborate  delineation  of  that  character, 
to  which  such  ample  justice  has  already  been  done 
by  master  hands.  I  deem  it  sufficient  to  say  in 
general,  that,  referred  to  all  the  standards  by  which 
public  character  can  be  estimated,  he  exhibited,  in  a 
rare  degree,  the  qualities  of  a  truly  great  man. 

The  period  at  which  he  came  forward  in  life,  and 
during  which  he  played  so  distinguished  a  part,  was 
not  one  in  which  small  men,  dependent  upon  their 
own  exertions,  are  likely  to  rise  to  a  high  place  in 
public  estimation.  The  present  generation  of  young 
men  are  hardly  aware  of  the  vehemence  of  the 
storms  that  shook  the  world  at  the  time,  when  Mr. 
Webster  became  old  enough  to  form  the  first  childish 
conceptions  of  the  nature  of  the  events  in  progress 
at  home  and  abroad.  His  recollection,  he  tells  us, 
in  an  autobiographical  sketch,  went  back  to  the  year 
1790,--~  a  year  when  the  political  system  of  conti- 
nental Europe  was  about  to  plunge  into  a  state  of 
frightful  disintegration,  while,  under  the  new  consti- 
tution, the  United  States  were  commencing  an 
unexampled  career  of  prosperity ;  Washington  just 
entering  upon  the  first  Presidency  of  the  new-born 


46 


republic ;  the  reins  of  the  oldest  monarchy  in  Europe 
slipping,  besmeared  with  blood,  from  the  hands  of 
the  descendant  of  thirty  generations  of  kings.  The 
fearful  struggle  between  France  and  the  allied  powers 
succeeded,  which  strained  the  resources  of  the  Euro- 
pean governments  to  their  utmost  tension.  Armies 
and  navies  were  arrayed  against  each  other,  such  as 
the  civilized  world  had  never  seen  before,  and  wars 
waged  beyond  all  former  experience.  The  storm 
passed  over  the  continent  as  a  tornado  passes  through 
a  forest,  when  it  comes  rolling  and  roaring  from  the 
clouds,  and  prostrates  the  growth  of  centuries  in  its 
path.  England,  in  virtue  of  her  insular  position,  her 
naval  power,  and  her  free  institutions,  had,  more  than 
any  other  foreign  country,  weathered  the  storm  ;  but 
Russia  saw  the  Arctic  sky  lighted  with  the  flames  of 
her  old  Muscovite  capital;  the  shadowy  Kaisers  of 
the  House  of  Hapsburg  were  compelled  to  abdicate 
the  crown  of  the  Holy  Roman  Empire,  and  accept  as 
a  substitute  that  of  Austria ;  Prussia,  staggering  from 
Jena,  trembled  on  the  verge  of  political  annihilation ; 
the  other  German  States,  Italy,  Switzerland,  Holland, 
and  the  Spanish  Peninsula,  were  convulsed ;  Egypt 
overrun ;  Constantinople  and  the  East  threatened ; 
and  in  many  of  these  states,  institutions,  laws,  ideas, 
and  manners  were  changed  as  effectually  as  dynasties. 
With  the  downfall  of  Napoleon,  a  partial  recon- 
struction of  the  old  forms  took  place ;  but  the 


47 


political     genius    of    the     continent   of    Europe    was 
revolutionized. 

On  this  side  of  the  Atlantic,  the  United  States, 
though  studying  an  impartial  neutrality,  were  drawn 
at  first  to  some  extent  into  the  outer  circles  of  the 
terrific  maelstrom ;  but  soon  escaping,  they  started 
upon  a  career  of  national  growth  and  development 
of  which  the  world  has  witnessed  no  other  example. 
Meantime,  the  Spanish  and  the  Portuguese  Vice- 
royalties  south  of  us,  from  Mexico  to  Cape  Horn, 
asserted  their  independence ;  that  Castillian  empire 
on  which  the  'sun  never  set  was  dismembered,  and 
the  golden  chain  was  forever  sundered,  by  which 
Columbus  had  linked  half  his  new-found  world  to  the 
throne  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella. 

Such  was  the  crowd  and  the  importance  of  the 
events  in  which,  from  his  childhood  up,  the  life  of 
Mr.  Webster,  and  of  the  generation  to  which  he 
belonged,  was  passed ;  and  I  can  with  all  sincerity 
say,  that  it  has  never  been  my  fortune,  in  Europe  or 
America,  to  hold  intercourse  with  any  person,  who 
seemed  to  me  to  penetrate  further  than  he  had  done 
into  the  spirit  of  the  age,  under  its  successive  phases 
of  dissolution,  chaos,  reconstruction,  and  progress. 
Born  and  bred  on  the  verge  of  the  wilderness,  (his 
father  a  veteran  of  those  old  French  and  Indian  wars, 
in  which,  in  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century, 
wild  men  came  out  of  the  woods,  to  wage  war  with 


48 


the  tomahawk  and  the  scalping  knife,  against  the 
fireside  and  the  cradle),  with  the  slenderest  opportu- 
nities for  early  education,  entering  life  with  scarce 
the  usual  facilities  for  reading  the  riddle  of  foreign 
statecraft,  remote  from  the  scene  of  action,  relying 
upon  sources  of  information  equally  open  to  all  the 
world,  he  seemed  to  me,  nevertheless,  by  the  instinct 
of  a  great  capacity,  to  have  comprehended  in  all  its 
aspects  the  march  of  events  in  Europe  and  this 
country.  He  surveyed  the  agitation  of  the  age  with 
calmness,  deprecated  its  excesses,  sympathized  with 
its  progressive  tendencies,  rejoiced  in  its  triumphs. 
His  first  words  in  Congress,  when  he  came  unan- 
nounced from  his  native  hills  in  1813,  proclaimed  his 
mastery  of  the  perplexed  web  of  European  politics, 
in  which  the  United  States  were  then  but  too  deeply 
entangled ;  and  from  that  time  till  his  death,  I  think 
we  all  felt,  those  who  differed  from  him  as  well  as 
those  who  agreed  with  him,  that  he  was  in  no  degree 
below  the  standard  of  his  time  ;  that  if  Providence 
had  cast  his  lot  in  the  field  where  the  great  destinies 
of  Europe  are  decided,  this  poor  New  Hampshire 
youth  would  have  carried  his  head  as  high  among 
the  Metternichs,  the  Nesselrodes,  the  Hardenbergs, 
the  Talleyrands,  the  Castlereaghs  of  the  day,  and 
surely  among  their  successors,  who  now  occupy 
the  stage,  as  he  did  among  his  contemporaries  at 
home. 


49 


HIS     CONTEMPORAKIES. 

Let  me  not  be  thought,  however,  in  this  remark, 
to  intimate  that  these  contemporaries  at  home  were 
second-rate  men;  far  otherwise.  It  has  sometimes 
seemed  to  me  that,  owing  to  the  natural  reverence 
in  which  we  hold  the  leaders  of  the  revolutionary 
period, —  the  heroic  age  of  the  country, —  and  those 
of  the  constitutional  age  who  brought  out  of  chaos 
this  august  system  of  confederate  republicanism,  we 
hardly  do  full  justice  to  the  third  period  in  our  polit- 
ical history,  which  may  be  dated  from  about  the 
time  when  Mr.  Webster  came  into  political  life,  and 
continued  through  the  first  part  of  his  career.  The 
heroes  and  sages  of  the  revolutionary  and  constitu- 
tional period,  were  indeed  gone.  Washington,  Frank- 
lin, Greene,  Hamilton,  Morris,  Jay,  slept  in  their 
honored  graves.  John  Adams,  Jefferson,  Carroll, 
though  surviving,  were  withdrawn  from  affairs.  But 
Madison,  who  contributed  so  much  to  the  formation 
and  adoption  of  the  constitution,  was  at  the  helm  ; 
Monroe  in  the  cabinet ;  John  Quincy  Adams,  Gallatin 
and  Bayard  negotiating  in  Europe;  in  the  Senate 
were  Rufus  King,  Christopher  Gore,  Jeremiah  Mason, 
Giles,  Otis;  in  the  House  of  Representatives,  Pick- 
ering, Clay,  Lowndes,  Cheves,  Calhoun,  Gaston,  For- 
syth,  Randolph,  Oakley,  Pitkin,  Grosvenor;  on  the 
bench  of  the  Supreme  Court,  Marshall,  Livingston, 


50 


Story;  at  the  bar,  Dexter,  Emmet,  Pinkney,  and 
Wirt;  with  many  distinguished  men  not  in  the  gen- 
eral government,  of  whom  it  is  enough  to  name 
DeWitt  Clinton  and  Chancellor  Kent.  It  was  my 
privilege  to  see  Mr.  Webster  associated  and  mingling 
with  nearly  all  these  eminent  men,  and  their  suc- 
cessors, not  only  hi  later  years,  but  in  my  own 
youth,  and  when  he  first  came  forward,  unknown  as 
yet  to  the  country  at  large,  scarcely  known  to  himself, 
not  arrogant,  nor  yet  wholly  unconscious  of  his  mighty 
powers,  tied  to  a  laborious  profession  in  a  narrow 
range  of  practice,  but  glowing  with  a  generous 
ambition,  and  not  afraid  to  grapple  with  the  strongest 
and  boldest  in  the  land.  The  opinion  pronounced 
of  him,  at  the  commencement  of  his  career,  by  Mr. 
Lowndes,  that  the  "South  had  not  hi  Congress  his 
superior,  nor  the  North  his  equal,"  savors  in  the 
form  of  expression  of  sectional  partiality.  If  it  had 
been  said,  that  neither  at  the  South  or  the 
North  had  any  public  man  risen  more  rapidly  to  a 
brilliant  reputation,  no  one,  I  think,  would  have 
denied  the  justice  of  the  remark.  He  stood  from 
the  first  the  acknowledged  equal  of  the  most  distin- 
guished of  his  associates.  In  later  years  he  acted 
with  the  successors  of  those  I  have  named,  with 
Benton,  Burges,  Edward  Livingston,  Hayne,  McDuffie, 
McLean,  Sergeant,  Clayton,  Wilde,  Storrs,  our  own 
Bates,  Davis,  Gorham,  Choate,  and  others  who  still 


survive;  but  it  will  readily  be  admitted  that  he 
never  sunk  from  the  position  which  he  assumed  at 
the  outset  of  his  career,  nor  stood  second  to  any 
man  in  any  part  of  the  country. 

,_'  li3:>.-\>  <S*,^:t~r,    Iv) 
THE     QUESTIONS    DISCUSSED    IN    HIS    TIME. 

ijr;w»  oiir  l^  /if&-  'Ja  fH$b  o&.-'  .--.aviot 
If  we  now  look  for  a  moment  at  the  public  ques- 
tions with  which  he  was  called  to  deal  in  the  course 
of  his  career,  and  with  which  he  did  deal,  in  the  most 
masterly  manner,  as  they  successively  came  up,  we 
shall  find  new  proofs  of  his  great  ability.  When  he 
first  came  forward  in  life,  the  two  great  belligerent 
powers  of  Europe,  contending  with  each  other  for 
the  mastery  of  the  world,  despising  our  youthful 
weakness,  and  impatient  of  our  gainful  neutrality, 
in  violation  now  admitted  of  the  Law  of  Nations, 
emulated  each  other  in  the  war  waged  upon  our 
commerce  and  the  insults  offered  to  our  flag.  To 
engage  in  a  contest  with  both,  would  have  been 
madness;  the  choice  of  the  antagonist  was  a  question 
of  difficulty,  and  well  calculated  to  furnish  topics  of 
reproach  and  recrimination.  Whichever  side  you 
adopted,  your  opponent  regarded  you  as  being,  in  a 
great  national  struggle,  the  apologist  of  an  unfriendly 
foreign  power.  In  1798  the  United  States  chose 
France  for  their  enemy;  in  1812,  Great  Britain. 
War  was  declared  against  the  latter  country  on  the 


52 


18th  of  June,  1812;  —  the  orders  in  Council,  which 
were  the  immediate,  though  not  the  exclusive,  cause 
of  the  war,  were  rescinded  five  days  afterwards. 
Such  are  the  narrow  chances  on  which  the  fortunes 
of  States  depend. 

Great  questions  of  domestic  and  foreign  policy 
followed  the  close  of  war.  Of  the  former  class  were 
the  restoration  of  a  currency  which  should  truly 
represent  the  values  which  it  nominally  circulated  ; 
a  result  mainly  brought  about  by  a  resolution  moved 
by  Mr.  Webster;  —  the  fiscal  system  of  the  Union 
and  the  best  mode  of  connecting  the  collection, 
safe-keeping,  and  disbursement  of  the  public  funds, 
with  the  commercial  wants,  and  especially  with  the 
exchanges  of  the  country ;  —  the  stability  of  the 
manufactures,  which  had  been  called  into  existence 
during  the  war;  what  can  constitutionally  be  done, 
ought  anything  as  a  matter  of  policy  to  be  done  by 
Congress,  to  protect  them  from  the  competition  of 
foreign  skill,  and  the  glut  of  foreign  markets ;  the 
internal  communications  of  the  Union,  a  question  of 
paramount  interest  before  the  introduction  of  rail- 
roads;—  can  the  central  power  do  anything,  what 
can  it  do,  by  roads  and  canals,  to  bind  the  distant 
parts  of  the  continent  together;  the  enlargement  of 
the  judicial  system  of  the  country  to  meet  the  wants 
of  the  greatly  increased  number  of  the  States ;  the 
revision  of  the  criminal  code  of  the  United  States, 


53 


which  was  almost  exclusively  his  work;  the  admin- 
istration of  the  public  lands,  and  the  best  mode  of 
filling  with  civilized  and  Christian  homes  this  immense 
domain,  the  amplest  heritage  which  was  ever  sub- 
jected to  the  control  of  a  free  government ;  connected 
with  the  public  domain,  the  relations  of  the  civilized 
and  dominant  race  to  the  aboriginal  children  of  the 
soil ;  and  lastly,  the  constitutional  questions  on  the 
nature  of  the  government,  which  were  raised  in  that 
gigantic  controversy  on  the  interpretation  of  the 
fundamental  law  itself.  These  were  some  of  the  most 
important  domestic  questions  which  occupied  the 
attention  of  Congress  and  the  country,  while  Mr. 
Webster  was  on  the  stage. 

Of  questions  connected  with  foreign  affairs,  were 
those  growing  out  of  the  war,  which  was  in  progress 
when  he  first  became  a  member  of  Congress, — then 
the  various  questions  of  International  Law,  some  of 
them  as  novel  as  they  were  important,  which  had 
reference  to  the  entrance  or  the  attempted  entrance 
of  so  many  new  States  into  the  family  of  nations;  in 
Europe, — Greece,  Belgium.  Hungary; — on  this  con- 
tinent, twelve  or  fourteen  new  republics,  great  and 
small,  bursting  from  the  ruins  of  the  Spanish  colonial 
empire,  like  a  group  of  asteroids  from  the  wreck  of 
an  exploded  planet ;  —  the  invitation  of  the  infant 
American  Republics  to  meet  them  in  Congress  at 
Panama; — our  commercial  relations  with  the  British 


54 


Colonies  in  the  West  Indies  and  on  this  continent; 
— demands  on  several  European  States  for  spoliations 
on  our  commerce  during  the  wars  of  the  French 
Revolution;  —  our  secular  controversy  with  England 
relative  to  the  boundary  of  the  United  States  on  the 
north-eastern  and  Pacific  frontiers ;  —  our  relations 
with  Mexico,  previous  to  the  war;  the  immunity  of 
the  American  flag  upon  the  common  jurisdiction  of 
the  ocean ;  —  and  more  important  than  all  other 
questions,  foreign  or  domestic,  in  its  influence  upon 
the  general  politics  of  the  country,  the  great  sectional 
controversy,  —  not  then  first  commenced,  but  greatly 
increased  in  warmth  and  energy,  —  which  connected 
itself  with  the  organization  of  the  newly  acquired 
Mexican  territories. 

Such  were  the  chief  questions  on  which  it  was  Mr. 
Webster's  duty  to  form  opinions;  as  an  influential 
member  of  Congress  and  a  political  leader,  to  speak 
and  to  vote;  as  a  member  of  the  Executive  govern- 
ment, to  exercise  a  powerful,  over  some  of  them,  a 
decisive  control.  Besides  these,  there  was  another 
class  of  questions  of  great  public  importance,  which 
came  up  for  adjudication  in  the  Courts  of  the 
United  States,  which  he  was  called  professionally 
to  discuss.  Many  of  the  questions  of  each  class  now 
referred  to,  divided,  and  still  divide  opinion;  excited, 
and  still  excite  the  feelings  of  individuals,  of  parties, 
of  sections  of  the  country.  There  are  some  of  them, 


55 


which  in  the  course  of  a  long  life,  under  changing 
circumstances,  are  likely  to  be  differently  viewed  at 
different  periods,  by  the  same  individual.  I  am  not 
here  to-day  to  rake  off  the  warm  ashes  from  the 
embers  of  controversies,  which  have  spent  their  fury 
and  are  dying  away,  or  to  fan  the  fires  of  those 
which  still  burn.  But  no  one,  I  think,  whether  he 
agreed  with  Mr.  Webster  or  differed  from  him,  as 
to  any  of  these  questions,  will  deny  that  he  treated 
them  each  and  all  as  they  came  up  in  the  Senate, 
in  the  Courts,  or  in  negotiation  with  foreign  powers, 
in  a  broad,  statesman-like,  and  masterly  way.  There 
are  few  who  would  not  confess,  when  they  agreed 
with  him,  that  he  had  expressed  their  opinions  better 
than  they  could  do  it  themselves;  few,  when  they 
differed  from  him,  who  would  not  admit  that  he 
had  maintained  his  own  views  manfully,  powerfully, 
and  liberally, 

.* 

HIS    CAREER   AS   A    STATESMAN. 

Such  was  the  period  in  which  Mr.  Webster  lived, 
such  were  the  associates  with  whom  he  acted, 
the  questions  with  which  he  had  to  deal  as  a  states- 
man, a  jurist,  the  head  of  an  administration  of  the 
government,  and  a  public  speaker.  Let  us  contem- 
plate him  for  a  moment  in  either  capacity. 

Without    passing    through    the    preliminary   stage 


56 


of  the  State  Legislature,  and  elected  to  Congress 
in  six  years  from  the  time  of  his  admission  to  the 
Superior  Court  of  New  Hampshire,  he  was  on  his 
first  entrance  into  the  House  of  Representatives, 
placed  by  Mr.  Speaker  Clay  on  the  Committee  of 
Foreign  Affairs,  and  took  rank  forthwith  as  one  of 
the  leading  statesmen  of  the  day.  His  first  speech 
had  reference  to  those  famous  Berlin  and  Milan 
decrees  and  Orders  in  Council,  to  which  I  have 
already  alluded,  and  the  impression  produced  by 
it  was  such  as  to  lead  the  venerable  Chief  Justice 
Marshall,  eighteen  years  afterwards,  in  writing  to 
Mr.  Justice  Story,  to  say,  "At  the  time  when  this 
speech  was  delivered,  I  did  not  know  Mr.  Webster, 
but  I  was  so  much  struck  with  it,  that  I  did  not 
hesitate  then  to  state  that  he  was  a  very  able  man, 
and  would  become  one  of  the  very  first  statesmen 
in  America, — perhaps  the  very  first."  His  mind  at 
the  very  outset  of  his  career,  had,  by  a  kind  of 
instinct,  soared  from  the  principles  which  govern  the 
municipal  relations  of  individuals,  to  those  great 
rules  which  dictate  the  law  of  nations  to  indepen- 
dent States.  He  tells  us,  in  the  fragment  of  a 
diary  kept  while  he  was  a  law  student  in  Mr. 
Gore's  office,  that  he  then  read  Vattel  through  for 
the  third  time.  Accordingly,  in  after  life,  there 
was  no  subject  which  he  discussed  with  greater 
pleasure,  and  I  may  add,  with  greater  power,  than 


57 


questions  of  the  Law  of  Nations.  The  Revolution 
of  Greece  had  from  its  outbreak,  attracted  much 
of  the  attention  of  the  civilized  world.  A  people, 
whose  ancestors  had  originally  taught  letters  and 
arts  to  mankind,  struggling  to  regain  a  place  in 
the  great  family  of  independent  States;  the  con- 
vulsive efforts  of  a  Christian  people,  the  foundation 
of  whose  churches  by  the  apostles  in  person,  is 
recorded  in  the  New  Testament,  to  shake  off  the 
yoke  of  Mohammedan  despotism,  possessed  a  strange 
interest  for  the  friends  of  Christian  Liberty  through- 
out Europe  and  America.  President  Monroe  had 
called  the  attention  of  Congress  to  this  most 
interesting  struggle,  in  December,  1823,  and  Mr. 
Webster,  returning  to  Congress  after  a  retirement 
of  eight  years,  as  the  Representative  of  Boston, 
made  the  Greek  Revolution  the  subject  of  a  motion 
and  a  speech.  In  this  speech  he  treated  what  he 
called  "the  great  question  of  the  day, — the  ques- 
tion between  absolute  and  regulated  governments." 
He  engaged  in  a  searching  criticism  of  the  doctrines 
of  the  "  Holy  Alliance,"  and  maintained  the  duty 
of  the  United  States  as  a  great  free  power  to 
protest  against  them.  That  speech  remains,  in  my 
judgment,  to  this  day  the  ablest  and  most  effective 
remonstrance  against  the  principles  of  the  allied 
military  powers  of  continental  Europe.  Mr.  Jere- 
miah Mason  pronounced  it  "  the  best  sample  of 


58 


parliamentary  eloquence  and  statesmanlike  reasoning 
which  our  country  had  seen."  His  indignant  pro- 
test against  the  spirit  of  absolutism,  and  his  words 
of  sympathy  with  an  infant  people  struggling  for 
independence,  were  borne  on  the  wings  of  the  wind 
throughout  Christendom.  They  were  read  in  every 
language,  at  every  court,  in  every  cabinet,  in  every 
reading  room,  on  every  market  place ;  by  the  repub- 
licans of  Mexico  and  Spanish  South  America,  by 
the  patriots  of  Italy  and  of  Poland;  on  the  Tagus, 
on  the  Danube,  as  well  as  at  the  head  of  the 
little  armies  of  revolutionary  Greece.  The  practical 
impression  which  it  made  on  the  American  mind 
was  seen  in  the  liberality  with  which  cargoes  of  food 
and  clothing,  a  year  or  two  afterwards,  were  des- 
patched to  the  relief  of  the  Greeks.  No  legislative 
or  executive  measure  was  adopted  at  that  tune  in 
consequence  of  Mr.  Webster's  motion  and  speech, — 
probably  none  was  anticipated  by  him;  but  no  one 
who  considers  how  much  the  march  of  events  in 
such  cases  is  influenced  by  the  moral  sentiments, 
will  doubt  that  a  great  word  like  this,  spoken  in 
the  American  Congress,  must  have  had  no  slight 
effect  in  cheering  the  heart  of  Greece,  to  persevere 
in  her  unequal  but  finally  successful  struggle. 

It  was  by  these  masterly  parliamentary  efforts  that 
Mr.  Webster  left  his  mark  on  the  age  in  which  he 
lived.  His  fidelity  to  his  convictions  kept  him  for 


59 


the  greater  part  of  his  life  in  a  minority-^- a  position 
which  he  regarded  not  as  a  proscription,  but  as  a 
post  of  honor  and  duty.  He  felt  that  in  free  gov- 
ernments and  in  a  normal  state  of  parties,  an  oppo- 
sition is  a  political  necessity,  and  that  it  has  its 
duties  not  less  responsible  than  those  which  attach 
to  office.  Before  the  importance  of  Mr.  Webster's 
political  services  is  disparaged  for  want  of  positive 
results,  which  can  only  be  brought  about  by  those 
who  are  clothed  with  power,  it  must  be  shown  that 
to  raise  a  persuasive  and  convincing  voice  in  the 
vindication  of  truth  and  right,  to  uphold  and  assert 
the  true  principles  of  the  government  under  which 
we  live,  and  bring  them  home  to  the  hearts  of  the 
people,  to  do  this  from  a  sense  of  patriotic  duty, 
and  without  hope  of  the  honors  and  emoluments  of 
office,  to  do  it  so  as  to  instruct  the  public  con- 
science and  warm  the  public  heart,  is  a  less  merit- 
orious service  to  society,  than  to  touch  with  skilful 
hand  the  springs  of  party  politics,  and  to  hold 
together  the  often  discordant  elements  of  ill-com- 
pacted majorities. 

The  greatest  parliamentary  effort  made  by  Mr. 
Webster,  was  his  second  speech  on  Foote's  resolu- 
tion,— the  question  at  issue  being  nothing  less  than 
this :  Is  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  a 
compact  without  a  common  umpire  between  con- 
federated sovereignties;  or  is  it  a  government  of 


60 


the  people  of  the  United  States,  sovereign  within 
the  sphere  of  its  delegated  powers,  although  reserv- 
ing a  great  mass  of  undelegated  rights  to  the  separate 
State  governments  and  the  people  ?  With  those  who 
embrace  the  opinions  which  Mr.  Webster  combated 
in  this  speech,  this  is  not  the  time  nor  the  place 
to  engage  in  an  argument ;  but  those  who  believe 
that  he  maintained  the  true  principles  of  the  Con- 
stitution, will  probably  agree,  that  since  that  instru- 
ment was  communicated  to  the  Continental  Congress, 
seventy-two  years  ago  this  day,  by  George  Washing- 
ton as  President  of  the  Federal  Convention,  no 
greater  service  has  been  rendered  to  the  country 
than  in  the  delivery  of  this  speech.  Well  do  I 
recollect  the  occasion  and  the  scene.  It  was  truly 
what  Wellington  called  the  battle  of  Waterloo,  a 
conflict  of  giants.  I  passed  an  hour  and  a  half  with 
Mr.  Webster,  at  his  request,  the  evening  before  this 
great  effort;  and  he  went  over  to  me,  from  a  very 
concise  brief,  the  main  topics  of  the  speech  which 
he  had  prepared  for  the  following  day.  So  calm 
and  unimpassioned  was  the  memorandum,  so  entirely 
was  he  at  ease  himself,  that  I  was  tempted  to  think, 
absurdly  enough,  that  he  was  not  sufficiently  aware 
of  the  magnitude  of  the  occasion.  But  I  soon  per- 
ceived that  his  calmness  was  the  repose  of  conscious 
power.  He  was  not  only  at  ease,  but  sportive  and 
full  of  anecdote ;  and  as  he  told  the  Senate  play- 


61 


fully  the  next  day,  he  slept  soundly  that  night  on 
the  formidable  assault  of  his  gallant  and  accom- 
plished adversary.  So  the  great  Cond^  slept  on 
the  eve  of  the  battle  of  Rocroi;  so  Alexander  slept 
on  the  eve  of  the  battle  of  Arbela ;  and  so  they 
awoke  to  deeds  of  immortal  fame.  As  I  saw  him 
in  the  evening,  (if  I  may  borrow  an  illustration 
from  his  favorite  amusement,)  he  was  as  uncon- 
cerned and  as  free  of  spirit,  as  some  here  have  often 
seen  him,  while  floating  in  his  fishing  boat  along  a 
hazy  shore,  gently  rocking  on  the  tranquil  tide, 
dropping  his  line  here  and  there,  with  the  varying 
fortune  of  the  sport.  The  next  morning  he  was 
like  some  mighty  Admiral,  dark  and  terrible,  casting 
the  long  shadow  of  his  frowning  tiers  far  over  the 
sea,  that  seemed  to  sink  beneath  him ;  his  broad 
pendant  streaming  at  the  main,  the  stars  and  the 
stripes  at  the  fore,  the  mizzen,  and  the  peak ;  and 
bearing  down  like  a  tempest  upon  his  antagonist, 
with  all  his  canvas  strained  to  the  wind,  and  all 
his  thunders  roaring  from  his  broadsides. 

AS  A  JURIST. 

Mr.  Webster's  career  was  not  less  brilliant  as  a 
jurist  than  as  a  statesman.  In  fact,  he  possessed  in 
an  eminent  degree,  a  judicial  mind.  While  performing 
an  amount  of  congressional  and  official  labor  suf- 


62 


ficient  to  fill  the  busiest  day,  and  to  task  the  strong- 
est powers,  he  yet  sustained  with  a  giant's  strength, 
the  Herculean  toils  of  his  profession.  At  the  very 
commencement  of  his  legal  studies,  resisting  the 
fascination  of  a  more  liberal  course  of  reading,  he 
laid  his  foundations  deep  in  the  common  law;  grap- 
pled as  well  as  he  might  with  the  weary  subtleties 
and  obsolete  technicalities  of  Coke  Littleton,  and 
abstracted  and  translated  volumes  of  reports  from 
the  Norman  French  and  Latin.  A  few  years  of 
practice  follow  in  the  courts  of  New  Hampshire, 
interrupted  by  his  service  in  Congress  for  two  polit- 
ical terms,  and  we  find  him  at  the  bar  of  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  United  States  at  Washington,  inaugu- 
rating in  the  Dartmouth  College  case,  what  may 
be  called  a  new  school  of  constitutional  jurisprudence. 
It  would  be  a  waste  of  time  to  speak  of  that 
great  case,  or  of  Mr.  Webster's  connection  with  it. 
It  is  too  freshly  remembered  in  our  tribunals.  So 
novel  at  that  time,  were  the  principles  involved  in 
it,  that  a  member  of  the  Court,  after  a  cursory 
inspection  of  the  record  in  the  case,  expressed  the 
opinion  that  little  of  importance  could  be  urged  in 
behalf  of  the  plaintiff  in  error;  but  so  firm  is  the 
basis  on  which,  in  that  and  subsequent  cases  of 
a  similar  character,  those  principles  were  established, 
that  they  form  one  of  the  best  settled,  as  they  are 


63 


one  of  the   most   important,  portions   of  the    consti- 
tutional law  of  the  Union. 

Not  less  important,  and,  at  the  time,  not  less 
novel,  were  the  principles  involved  in  the  celebrated 
case  of  Gibbons  and  Ogden.  This  case  grew  out 
of  a  grant  by  the  State  of  New  York  to  the 
assignees  of  Fulton,  of  the  exclusive  right  to  navi- 
gate by  steam  the  rivers,  harbors  and  bays  of  the 
Empire  State.  Twenty-five  years  afterwards,  Mr. 
Justice  "Wayne  gave  to  Mr.  Webster  the  credit  of 
having  laid  down  the  broad  constitutional  ground, 
on  which  the  navigable  waters  of  the  United  States, 
"every  creek  and  river  and  lake  and  bay  and 
harbor  in  the  country,"  were  forever  rescued  from 
the  grasp  of  State  monopoly.  So  failed  the  inten- 
tion of  the  Legislature  of  New  York  to  secure  a 
rich  pecuniary  reward  to  the  great  perfecter  of 
steam  navigation;  so  must  have  failed  any  attempt 
to  compensate  by  money  the  inestimable  achieve- 
ment. Monopolies  could  not  reward  it;  silver  and 
gold  could  not  weigh  down  its  value.  Small  services 
are  paid  with  money  and  place;  large  ones  with  fame. 
Fulton  had  his  reward,  when,  after  twenty  years 
of  unsuccessful  experiment  and  hope  deferred,  he 
made  the  passage  to  Albany  by  steam ;  as  Frank- 
lin had  his  reward  when  he  saw  the  fibres  of  the 
cord  which  held  his  kite  stiffening  with  the  elec- 
tricity they  had  drawn  from  the  thunder-cloud; 


64 


as  Galileo  had  his  when  he  pointed  his  little  tube 
to  the  heavens  and  discovered  the  Medicean  stars; 
as  Columbus  had  his  when  he  beheld  from  the  deck 
of  his  vessel  a  moving  light  on  the  shores  of  his 
new  found  world.  That  one  glowing  unutterable 
thrill  of  conscious  success  is  too  exquisite  to  be 
alloyed  with  baser  metal.  The  midnight  vigils,  the 
aching  eyes,  the  fainting  hopes  turned  at  last  into 
one  bewildering  ecstasy  of  triumph,  cannot  be  repaid 
with  gold.  The  great  discoveries,  improvements  and 
inventions  which  benefit  mankind,  can  only  be 
rewarded  by  opposition,  obloquy,  poverty,  and  an 
undying  name. 

Time  would  fail  me,  were  I  otherwise  equal  to 
the  task,  to  dwell  on  the  other  great  constitutional 
cases  argued  by  Mr.  Webster;  those  on  State 
insolvent  laws,  the  Bank  of  the  United  States, 
the  Sailor's  Snug  Harbor,  the  Charlestown  Bridge 
Franchise,  or  those  other  great  cases  on  the  va- 
lidity of  Mr.  Girard's  will,  in  which  Mr.  Webster's 
argument  drew  forth  an  emphatic  acknowledgment 
from  the  citizens  of  Washington,  of  all  denomina- 
tions, for  its  great  value  "in  demonstrating  the  vital 
importance  of  Christianity  to  the  success  of  our  free 
institutions,  and  that  the  general  diffusion  of  that 
argument  among  the  people  of  the  United  States 
is  a  matter  of  deep  public  interest ; "  or  the  argu- 
ment of  the  Rhode  Island  charter  case  in  1848, 


65 


which  attracted  no  little  public  notice  in  Europe 
at  that  anxious  period,  as  a  masterly  discussion  of 
the  true  principles  of  constitutional  obligation. 

It  would  be  superfluous,  I  might  almost  say  im- 
pertinent, to  remark,  that  if  Mr.  Webster  stood  at 
the  head  of  the  constitutional  lawyers  of  the  coun- 
try, he  was  not  less  distinguished  in  early  and  middle 
life,  in  the  ordinary  walks  of  the  profession.  From 
a  very  early  period  he  shared  the  best  practice  with 
the  most  eminent  of  his  profession.  The  trial  of 
Goodridge  in  1817,  and  of  Knapp  in  1829,  are  still 
recollected  as  specimens  of  the  highest  professional 
skill;  the  latter,  in  fact,  as  a  case  of  historical  im- 
portance in  the  criminal  jurisprudence  of  the  country. 

But,  however  distinguished  his  reputation  in  the 
other  departments  of  his  profession,  his  fame  as  a 
jurist  is  mainly  associated  with  the  tribunals  of  the 
United  States.  The  relation  of  the  Federal  Govern- 
ment to  that  of  the  States  is  peculiar  to  this  country, 
and  gives  rise  to  a  class  of  cases  in  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  United  States,  to  which  there  is  noth- 
ing analogous  in  the  jurisprudence  of  England.  In 
that  country  nothing,  not  even  the  express  words 
of  a  treaty,  can  be  pleaded  against  an  act  of  Par- 
liament. The  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States 
entertains  questions  which  involve  the  constitutionality 
of  the  laws  of  State  legislatures,  the  validity  of  the 
decrees  of  State  courts,  nay  of  the  constitutionality 


66 


of  acts  of  Congress  itself.  Every  one  feels  that 
this  range  and  elevation  of  jurisdiction  must  tend 
greatly  to  the  respectability  of  practice  at  that 
forum,  and'  give  a  breadth  and  liberality  to  the 
tone  with  which  questions  are  there  discussed,  not 
so  much  to  be  looked  for  in  the  ordinary  litigation 
of  the  common  law.  No  one  needs  to  be  reminded 
how  fully  Mr.  Webster  felt,  and  in  his  own  relations 
to  it,  sustained  the  dignity  of  this  tribunal.  He 
regarded  it  as  the  great  mediating  power  of  the 
Constitution.  He  believed  that  while  it  commanded 
the  confidence  of  the  country,  no  serious  derange- 
ment of  any  of  the  other  great  functions  of  the 
government  was  to  be  apprehended;  if  it  should 
ever  fail  to  do  so,  he  feared  the  worst.  For  the 
memory  of  Marshall,  the  great  and  honored  magis- 
trate who  presided  in  this  court  for  the  third  part 
of  a  century,  and  did  so  much  to  raise  its  reputa- 
tion and  establish  its  influence,  he  cherished  feelings 
of  veneration  second  only  to  those  which  he  bore 
to  the  memory  of  Washington. 

AS    A    DIPLOMATIST. 

In  his  political  career  Mr.  Webster  owed  almost 
everything  to  popular  choice,  or  the  favor  of  the 
Legislature  of  Massachusetts.  He  was,  however,  twice 
clothed  with  executive  power,  as  the  head  of  an 


67 


Administration,  and  in  that  capacity  achieved  a  diplo- 
matic success  of  the  highest  order.  Among  the 
victories  of  peace  not  less  renowned  than  those  of 
war  which  Milton  celebrates,  the  first  place  is  surely 
due  to  those  friendly  arrangements  between  great 
powers,  by  which  war  is  averted.  Such  an  arrange- 
ment was  effected  by  Mr.  Webster  in  1842,  in 
reference  to  more  than  one  highly  irritating  question 
between  this  country  and  Great  Britain,  and  especially 
the  North-eastern  Boundary  of  the  United  States. 
I  allude  to  the  subject,  not  for  the  sake  of  reopen- 
ing obsolete  controversies,  but  for  the  purpose  of 
vindicating  his  memory  from  the  charges  of  disin- 
genuousness  and  even  fraud  which  were  brought 
against  him  at  the  time  in  England,  and  which 
have  very  lately  been  revived  in  that  county.  I 
do  it  the  rather  as  the  facts  of  the  case  have  never 
been  fully  stated. 

The  North-eastern  Boundary  of  the  United  States, 
which  was  described  by  the  treaty  of  1783,  had 
never  been  surveyed  and  run.  It  was  still  unsettled 
in  1842,  and  had  become  the  subject  of  a  contro- 
versy which  had  resisted  the  ability  of  several  suc- 
cessive administrations,  on  both  sides  of  the  water, 
and  had  nearly  exhausted  the  resources  of  arbitration 
and  diplomacy.  Border  collisions,  though  happily  no 
bloodshed,  had  taken  place ;  seventeen  regiments  had 
been  thrown  into  the  British  Provinces;  General 


68 


Scott  had  been  despatched  to  the  frontier  of  Maine; 
and  our  Minister  in  London  (Mr.  Stevenson,)  had 
written  to  the  commander  of  the  American  squadron 
in  the  Mediterranean,  that  a  war,  in  Tiis  opinion,  was 
inevitable. 

Such  was  the  state  of  things  when  Mr.  Webster 
came  into  the  Department  of  State  in  the  spring 
of  1841.  He  immediately  gave  an  intimation  to  the 
British  government  that  he  was  desirous  of  renew- 
ing the  interrupted  negotiation.  A  change  of  min- 
istry took  place  in  England,  in  the  course  of  a  few 
months,  and  a  resolution  was  soon  taken  by  Sir 
Robert  Peel  and  Lord  Aberdeen,  to  send  a  special 
Envoy  to  the  United  States,  to  make  a  last  attempt 
to  settle  this  dangerous  dispute  by  negotiation. 
Lord  Ashburton  was  selected  for  this  honorable 
errand,  and  his  known  friendly  relations  with  Mr. 
Webster  were  among  the  motives  that  prompted 
his  appointment.  It  may  be  observed  that  the  in- 
trinsic difficulties  of  the  negotiation  were  increased 
by  the  circumstance,  that,  as  the  disputed  territory 
lay  in  the  State  of  Maine,  and  the  property  of  the 
soil  was  in  Maine  and  Massachusetts,  it  was  deemed 
necessary  to  obtain  the  consent  of  those  States  to 
any  arrangement  that  might  be  entered  into  by 
the  general  government. 

The  length  of  time  for  which  the  question  had 
been  controverted  had,  as  usually  happens  in  such 


69 


cases,  had  the  effect  of  fixing  both  parties  more 
firmly  in  their  opposite  views  of  the  subject.  It 
was  a  pledge  at  least  of  the  good  faith  with  which 
the  United  States  had  conducted  the  discussion,  that 
everything  in  our  archives  bearing  on  the  subject 
had  been  voluntarily  spread  before  the  world.  On 
the  other  side,  no  part  of  the  correspondence  of 
the  ministers  who  negotiated  the  treaty  of  1783  had 
ever  been  published,  and  whenever  Americans  were 
permitted  for  literary  purposes  to  institute  historical 
inquiries  in  the  public  offices  in  London,  precautions 
were  taken  to  prevent  anything  from  being  brought 
to  light,  which  might  bear  unfavorably  on  the  Brit- 
ish interpretation  of  the  treaty. 

The  American  interpretation  of  the  treaty  had 
been  maintained  in  its  fullest  extent,  as  far  as  I 
am  aware,  by  every  statesman  in  the  country,  of 
whatever  party,  to  whom  the  question  had  ever 
been  submitted.  It  had  been  thus  maintained  in 
good  faith  by  an  entire  generation  of  public  men 
of  the  highest  intelligence  and  most  unquestioned 
probity.  The  British  government  had,  with  equal 
confidence,  maintained  their  interpretation.  The  at- 
tempt to  settle  the  controversy  by  a  reference  to 
the  King  of  the  Netherlands  had  failed.  In  this 
state  of  things,  as  the  boundary  had  remained  un- 
settled for  fifty-nine  years,  and  had  been  controverted 
for  more  than  twenty;  as  negotiation  and  arbitra- 


70 


tion  had  shown  that  neither  party  was  likely  to 
convince  the  other;  and  as  in  cases  of  this  kind 
it  is  more  important  that  a  public  controversy 
should  be  settled  than  how  it  should  be  settled,  (of 
course  within  reasonable  limits,)  Mr.  "Webster  had 
from  the  first  contemplated  a  conventional  line. 
Such  a  line,  and  for  the  same  reasons,  was  antici- 
pated in  Lord  Ashburton's  instructions,  and  was 
accordingly  agreed  upon  by  the  two  negotiators;  — 
a  line  convenient  and  advantageous  to  both  parties. 

Such  an  adjustment,  however,  like  that  which  had 
been  proposed  by  the  King  of  the  Netherlands,  was 
extremely  distasteful  to  the  people  of  Maine,  who, 
standing  on  their  rights,  adhered  with  the  greatest 
tenacity  to  the  boundary  described  by  the  treaty  of 
1783,  as  the  United  States  had  always  claimed  it. 
As  the  opposition  of  Maine  had  prevented  that  ar- 
rangement from  taking  effect,  there  is  great  reason 
to  suppose  that  it  would  have  prevented  the  adoption 
of  the  conventional  line  agreed  to  by  Mr.  Webster 
and  Lord  Ashburton,  but  for  the  following  circum- 
stance. 

This  was  the  discovery,  the  year  before,  by  Pres- 
ident Sparks,  in  the  archives  of  the  Bureau  of 
Foreign  Affairs,  at  Paris,  of  a  copy  of  a  small  map 
of  North  America,  by  D'Anville,  published  in  1746, 
on  which  a  red  line  was  drawn,  indicating  a  boun- 
dary between  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain 


71 


more  favorable  to  the  latter  than  she  herself  had 
claimed  it.  By  whom  it  was  marked,  or  for  what 
piirpose,  did  not  appear,  from  any  indication  on 
the  map  itself.  There  was  also  found,  in  the 
Bureau  of  Foreign  Affairs,  in  a  bound  volume  of 
official  correspondence,  a  letter  from  Dr.  Franklin 
to  the  Count  de  Vergennes,  dated  on  the  6th  of  De- 
cember, 1782,  (six  days  after  the  signature  of  the 
provisional  articles,)  stating  that  in  compliance  with 
the  Count's  request,  and  on  a  map  sent  him  for 
the  purpose,  he  had  marked,  "  with  a  strong  red 
line,  the  limits  of  the  United  States,  as  settled  in 
the  preliminaries." 

The  French  archives  had  been  searched  by  Mr. 
Canning's  agents  as  long  ago  as  1827,  but  this 
map  either  escaped  their  notice,  or  had  not  been 
deemed  by  them  of  importance.  The  English  and 
French  maps  of  this  region  differ  from  each  other, 
and  it  is  known  that  the  map  used  by  the  nego- 
tiators of  the  treaty  of  1783,  was  Mitchell's  large 
map  of  America,  published  under  the  official  sanc- 
tion of  the  Board  of  Trade  in  1754.  D'Anville's 
map  was  but  eighteen  inches  square ;  and  on  so 
small  a  scale  the  difference  of  the  two  boundaries 
would  be  but  slight,  and  consequently  open  to 
mistake.  The  letter  of  the  Count  de  Vergennes, 
transmitting  a  map  to  be  marked,  is  not  preserved, 
nor  is  there  any  endorsement  on  the  red-line  map, 


72 


to  show  that  it  is  the  map  sent  by  the  Count  and 
marked  by  Franklin.  D'Anville's  map  was  pub- 
lished in  1746,  and  it  would  surely  be  unwarrant- 
able to  take  for  granted,  in  a  case  of  such  importance, 
that,  in  the  course  of  thirty  years,  it  could  not  have 
been  marked  with  a  red  line,  for  some  other  pur- 
pose, and  by  some  other  person.  It  would  be  equally 
rash  to  assume  as  certain,  either  that  the  map 
marked  by  Franklin  for  the  Count  de  Vergennes  was 
deposited  by  him  in  the  public  archives ;  or,  that 
if  so  deposited,  it  may  not  be  concealed  among 
the  sixty  thousand  maps  contained  in  that  deposi- 
tory. The  official  correspondence  of  Mr.  Oswald, 
the  British  negotiator,  was  retained  by  the  British 
minister  in  his  own  possession,  and  does  not  ap- 
pear ever  to  have  gone  into  the  public  archives. 

In  the  absence  of  all  evidence  to  connect  Dr. 
Franklin's  letter  with  the  map,  it  could  not,  in  a 
court  of  justice,  have  been  received  for  a  moment 
as  a  map  marked  by  him ;  and  any  presumption 
that  it  was  so  marked  was  resisted  by  the  lan- 
guage of  the  treaty.  This  point  was  urged  in 
debate,  with  great  force,  by  Lord  Brougham,  who,  as 
well  as  Sir  Robert  Peel,  liberally  defended  Mr. 
Webster  from  the  charges,  which  the  opposition 
journals  in  London  had  brought  against  him. 

Information  of  this  map  was,  in  the  progress  of 
the  negotiation,  very  properly  communicated  to  Mr. 


73 


Webster  by  Mr.  Sparks.  For  the  reasons  stated,  it 
could  not  be  admitted  as  proving  anything.  It  was 
another  piece  of  evidence  of  uncertain  character, 
and  Mr.  Webster  could  have  no  assurance  that 
the  next  day  might  not  produce  some  other  map 
equally  strong  or  stronger  on  the  American  side ; 
which,  as  I  shall  presently  state,  was  soon  done  in 
London. 

In  this  state  of  things,  he  made  the  only  use  of 
it,  which  could  be  legitimately  made,  in  communi- 
cating it  to  the  commissioners  of  the  State  of 
Maine  and  Massachusetts,  and  to  the  Senate,  as  a 
piece  of  conflicting  evidence,  entitled  to  considera- 
tion, likely  to  be  urged  as  of  great  importance 
by  the  opposite  party,  if  the  discussion  should  be 
renewed,  increasing  the  difficulties  which  already 
surrounded  the  question,  and  thus  furnishing  new 
grounds  for  agreeing  to  the  proposed  conventional 
line.  No  one,  I  think,  acquainted  with  the  history 
of  the  controversy,  and  the  state  of  public  opinion 
and  feeling,  can  doubt  that,  but  for  this  communi- 
cation, it  would  have  been  difficult,  if  not  impos- 
sible, to  procure"  the  assent  either  of  Maine  or  of 
the  Senate  to  the  treaty. 

This  would  seem  to  be  going  as  far  as  reason 
or  honor  required,  in  reference  to  an  unauthenti- 
cated  document,  having  none  of  the  properties  of 
legal  evidence,  not  exhibited  by  the  opposite  party, 


10 


74 


and  of  a  nature  to  be  outweighed  by  contradictory 
evidence  of  the  same  kind,  which  was  very  soon 
done.  But  Mr.  Webster  was  at  the  time,  severely 
censured  by  the  opposition  press  in  England,  and 
was  accused  of  "perfidy  and  want  of  good  faith," 
(and  this  charge  has  lately  been  revived  in  an 
elaborate  and  circumstantial  manner),  for  not  going 
with  this  map  to  Lord  Ashburton ;  entirely  aban- 
doning the  American  claim,  and  ceding  the  whole 
of  the  disputed  territory,  more  even  than  she  asked, 
to  Great  Britain,  on  the  strength  of  this  single 
piece  of  doubtful  evidence. 

Such  a  charge  scarcely  deserves  an  answer;  but 
two  things  will  occur  to  all  impartial  persons, — 
one,  that  the  red-line  map,  even  had  it  been 
proved  to  have  been  marked  by  Franklin  (which 
it  is  not),  would  be  but  one  piece  of  evidence, 
to  be  weighed,  with  the  words  of  the  treaty,  with 
all  the  other  evidence  in  the  case,  and  especially 
with  the  other  maps;  and,  secondly,  that  such  a 
course,  as  it  is  pretended  that  Mr.  Webster  ought 
to  have  pursued,  could  only  be  reasonably  required 
of  him,  on  condition  that  the  British  government 
had  also  produced,  or  would  undertake  to  pro- 
duce, all  the  evidence,  and  especially  all  the 
maps  in  its  possession,  favorable  to  the  American 
claim. 

Now,  not  to  urge   against   the  red-line  map,  that, 


75 


as  was  vigorously  argued  by  Lord  Brougham,  it 
was  at  variance  with  the  express  words  of  the 
treaty,  there  were,  according  to  Mr.  Gallatin,  the 
commissioner  for  preparing  the  claim  of  the  United 
States,  to  be  submitted  to  the  arbiter  in  1827,  at 
least  twelve  maps,  published  in  London,  in  the 
course  of  two  years  after  the  signature  of  the 
provisional  articles  in  1782,  all  of  which  give  the 
boundary  line  precisely  as  claimed  by  the  United 
States ;  and  no  map  was  published  in  London,  fa- 
voring the  British  claim,  till  the  third  year.  The 
earliest  of  these  maps  were  prepared  to  illustrate 
the  debates  in  Parliament  on  the  treaty ;  or  to 
illustrate  the  treaty  in  anticipation  of  the  debate. 
None  of  the  speakers  on  either  side  intimated  that 
these  maps  are  inaccurate,  though  some  of  the  op- 
position speakers  attacked  the  treaty  as  giving  a 
disadvantageous  boundary.  One  of  these  maps,  that 
of  Faden,  the  royal  geographer,  was  stated  on  the 
face  of  it  to  be  "  drawn  according  to  the  treaty."  Mr. 
Sparks  is  of  opinion  that  Mr.  Oswald,  the  British 
envoy  by  whom  the  treaty  was  negotiated,  and 
who  was  in  London  when  the  earliest  of  the  maps 
were  engraved,  was  consulted  by  the  map-makers 
on  the  subject  of  the  boundary.  At  any  rate,  had 
they  been  inaccurate  in  this  respect,  either  Mr. 
Oswald,  or  the  minister,  "  who  was '  vehemently  as- 
sailed on  account  of  the  large  concession  of  the 


boundaries,"  would  have  exposed  the  error.  But 
neither  by  Mr.  Oswald  nor  by  any  of  the  minis- 
ters was  any  complaint  made  of  the  inaccuracy  of 
the  maps. 

One  of  these  maps  was  that  contained  in  "Bew's 
Political  Magazine/'  a  respectable  journal,  for  which 
it  was  prepared,  to  illustrate  the  debate  on  the 
provisional  articles  of  1782.  It  happened  that  Lord 
Ashburton  was  calling  upon  me,  about  the  time 
of  the  debate  in  the  House  of  Commons  on  the 
merits  of  the  treaty,  on  the  21st  of  March,  1843. 
On  my  expressing  to  him  the  opinion,  with  the 
freedom  warranted  by  our  intimate  friendly  rela- 
tions, that  his  government  ought  to  be  much 
obliged  to  him,  for  obtaining  so  much  of  a  terri- 
tory, of  which  I  conscientiously  believed  the  whole 
belonged  to  us,  "  What,"  asked  he,  "  have  you  to 
oppose  to  the  red-line  map?"  I  replied  that,  in 
addition  to  the  other  objections  already  mentioned, 
I  considered  it  to  be  outweighed  by  the  numerous 
other  maps  which  were  published  at  London  at 
the  time,  some  of  them  to  illustrate  the  treaty  ; 
and,  among  them,  I  added,  "  the  map  in  the  vol- 
ume which  happens  to  lie  on  my  table  at  this 
moment,"  which  was  the  volume  of  u  Bew's  Po- 
litical Magazine,"  to  which  I  called  his  attention.  He 
told  me  that  he  was  unacquainted  with  that  map, 
and  desired  that  I  would  lend  him  the  volume,  to 
show  to  Sir  Robert  Peel.  This  I  did,  and  in  his 


reply  to  Lord  Palmerston,  in  the  House  of  Com- 
mons, Sir  Robert  Peel,  holding  this  volume  of  mine 
in  his  hand,  referred  to  the  map  contained  in  it, 
and  "  which  follows,"  said  he,  "  exactly  the  Ameri- 
can line,"  as  an  offset  to  the  red-line  map,  of  which 
great  use  had  been  made  by  the  opposition  in  Eng- 
land, for  the  purpose  of  showing  that  Lord  Ash- 
burton  had  been  overreached  by  Mr.  Webster.  In 
the  course  of  his  speech,  he  defended  Mr.  Webster 
in  the  handsomest  manner,  from  the  charges  brought 
against  him  in  reference  to  this  map,  by  the  oppo- 
sition press,  and  said  that  in  his  judgment  "the 
reflections  cast  upon  that  most  worthy  and  honor- 
able man  are  unjust." 

Nor  was  this  all.  The  more  effectually  to  remove 
the  impression  attempted  to  be  raised,  in  consequence 
of  the  red-line  map,  that  Lord  Ashburton  had  been 
overreached,  Sir  Robert  Peel  stated, — and  the  disclosure 
was  now  for  the  first  time  made, — that  there  was,  in  the 
library  of  King  George  the  Third,  (which  had  been 
given  to  the  British  Museum  by  George  the  Fourth), 
a  copy  of  Mitchell's  map,  in  which  the  boundary  as 
delineated  "follows  exactly  the  line  claimed  by  the 
United  States."  On  four  places  upon  this  line  are 
written  the  words,  in  a  strong,  bold  hand,  "The 
boundary  as  described  by  Mr.  Oswald."  There  is 
documentary  proof  that  Mr.  Oswald  sent  the  map 
used  by  him  in  negotiating  the  treaty  to  King 
George  the  Third,  for  his  information;  and  Lord 


78 


Brougham  stated  in  his  place,  in  the  House  of  Peers, 
that  the  words,  four  times  repeated  in  different 
parts  of  the  line,  were,  in  his  opinion,  written  by 
the  king  himself!  Having  listened,  and  of  course 
with  the  deepest  interest,  to  the  debate  in  the  House 
of  Commons,  I  sought  the  earliest  opportunity  of 
inspecting  the  map,  which  was  readily  granted  to 
me  by  Lord  Aberdeen.  The  boundary  is  marked,  in 
the  most  distinct  and  skilful  manner,  from  the  St 
Croix  all  round  to  the  St.  Mary's,  and  is  precisely 
that  which  has  been  always  claimed  by  us.  There  is 
every  reason  to  believe  that  this  is '  the  identical 
copy  of  Mitchell's  map  officially  used  by  the  nego- 
tiators, and  sent  by  Mr.  Oswald,  as  we  learn  from 
Dr.  Franklin,  to  England.  Sir  Robert  Peel  informed 
me  that  it  was  unknown  to  him  till  after  the  treaty ; 
and  Lord  Aberdeen  and  Lord  Ashburton  gave  me 
the  same  assurance.  It  was  well  known,  however, 
to  the  agent  employed  under  Lord  Melbourne's 
administration  in  maintaining  the  British  claim,  and 
who  was  foremost  in  vilifying  Mr.  Webster  for  con- 
cealing the  red-line  map  !  * 

*  Sir  Robert  Peel,  with  reference  to  the  line  on  Oswald's  map,  observes, 
"  I  do  not  say  that  that  was  the  boundary,  ultimately  settled  by  the  nego- 
tiators." Such,  however,  is  certainly  the  case.  Mr.  Jay's  copy  of  Mitchell's 
map  (which  was  also  discovered  after  the  negotiation  of  the  treaty), 
exhibits  a  line  running  down  the  St.  John's  to  its  mouth,  and  called  "  Mr. 
Oswald's  line."  This  is  the  line  which  Mr.  Oswald  offered  to  the  American 
negotiators  on  the  8th  of  October.  It  was,  however,  not  approved  by  the 
British  Government,  and  the  line  indicated  in  the  map  of  King  George  the 
Third,  as  the  "  Boundary  as  described  by  Mr.  Oswald,"  was  finally 
agreed  to. 


79 


AS    A    PUBLIC    SPEAKER. 

I  had  intended  to  say  a  few  words  on  Mr.  Web- 
ster's transcendent  ability  as  a  public  speaker  on 
the  great  national  anniversaries,  and  the  patriotic 
celebrations  of  the  country.  But  it  would  be  impos- 
sible, within  the  limits  of  a  few  paragraphs,  to  do 
any  kind  of  justice  to  such  efforts  as  the  discourse 
on  the  twenty-second  December,  at  Plymouth ;  the 
speeches  on  the  laying  the  corner-stone,  and  the 
completion  of  the  Bunker  Hill  Monument ;  the 
eulogy  on  Adams  and  Jefferson ;  the  character  of 
Washington ;  the  discourse  on  laying  the  foun- 
dation of  the  extension  of  the  Capitol.  What 
gravity  and  significance  in  the  topics,  what  rich- 
ness of  illustration,  what  soundness  of  principle, 
what  elevation  of  sentiment,  what  fervor  in  the 
patriotic  appeals,  what  purity,  vigor,  and  clearness 
in  the  style  ! 

With  reference  to  the  first-named  of  these  admir- 
able discourses,  the  elder  President  Adams  declared 
that  "  Burke  is  no  longer  entitled  to  the  praise  — 
the  most  consummate  orator  of  modern  times."  And 
it  will,  I  think,  be  admitted  by  any  one  who  shall 
attentively  study  them,  that  if  Mr.  Webster,  with  all 
his  powers  and  all  his  attainments,  had  done  nothing 
else  but  enrich  the  literature  of  the  country  with 


80 


these  performances,  he  would  be  allowed  to  have 
lived  not  unworthily,  nor  in  vain.  When  we  con- 
sider that  they  were  produced  under  the  severe 
pressure  of  professional  and  official  engagements, 
numerous  and  arduous  enough  to  task  even  his 
intellect,  we  are  lost  in  admiration  of  the  affluence 
of  his  mental  resources. 


GENERAL     CHARACTERISTICS    OF     STYLE    AND  MANNER. 

In  all  the  speeches,  arguments,  discourses,  and 
compositions  of  every  kind  proceeding  from  Mr. 
Webster's  lips  or  pen,  there  were  certain  general 
characteristics  which  I  am  unwilling  to  dismiss  without 
a  passing  allusion.  Each,  of  course,  had  its  peculiar 
merits,  according  to  the  nature  and  importance  of 
the  subject,  and  the  care  bestowed  by  Mr.  Webster 
on  the  discussion ;  but  I  find  some  general  qualities 
pervading  them  all.  One  of  them  is  the  extreme 
sobriety  of  the  tone,  the  pervading  common  sense, 
the  entire  absence  of  that  extravagance  and  over- 
statement which  are  so  apt  to  creep  into  political 
harangues,  and  discourses  on  patriotic  anniversa- 
ries. His  positions  are  taken  strongly,  clearly,  and 
boldly,  but  without  wordy  amplification,  or  one-sided 
vehemence.  You  feel  that  your  understanding  is 
addressed,  on  behalf  of  a  reasonable  proposition, 
which  rests  neither  on  sentimental  refinement  or 


81 


rhetorical  exaggeration.  This  is  the  case  even  in 
speeches  like  that  on  the  Greek  Revolution,  where 
in  enlisting  the  aid  of  classical  memories  and  Christian 
sympathies,  it  was  so  difficult  to  rest  within  the 
bounds  of  moderation. 

This  moderation  not  only  characterizes  Mr.  Web- 
ster's parliamentary  efforts,  but  is  equally  conspicuous 
in  his  discourses  on  popular  and  patriotic  occasions, 
which,  amidst  all  the  inducements  to  barren  declam- 
ation, are  equally  and  always  marked  by  the  treatment 
of  really  important  topics,  in  a  manly  and  instructive 
strain  of  argument  and  reflection. 

Let  it  not  be  thought,  however,  that  I  would  rep- 
resent Mr.  Webster's  speeches  in  Congress  or  else- 
where, as  destitute,  on  proper  occasions,  of  the  most 
glowing  appeals  to  the  moral  sentiments,  or  wanting, 
when  the  topic  invites  it,  in  any  of  the  adornments 
of  a  magnificent  rhetoric.  Who  that  heard  it,  or  has 
read  it,  will  ever  forget  the  desolating  energy  of  his 
denunciation  of  the  African  slave  trade,  in  the  dis- 
course at  Plymouth ;  or  the  splendor  of  the  apostrophe 
to  Warren,  in  the  first  discourse  on  Bunker  Hill ;  or 
that  to  the  monumental  shaft  and  the  survivors  of 
the  Revolution  in  the  second;  or  the  trumpet-tones 
of  the  speech  placed  in  the  lips  of  John  Adams,  in 
the  eulogy  on  Adams  and  Jefferson;  or  the  sublime 
peroration  of  the  speech  on  Foot's  resolution ;  or 
the  lyric  fire  of  the  imagery  by  which  he  illustrates 


82 


the  extent  of  the  British  empire ;  or  the  almost  super- 
natural terror  of  his  description  of  the  force  of  con- 
science in  the  argument  in  Knapp's  trial  ?  Then,  how 
bright  and  fresh  the  description  of  Niagara!  how 
beautiful  the  picture  of  the  Morning,  in  his  private 
correspondence,  which,  as  well  as  his  familiar  conver- 
sation, were  enlivened  by  the  perpetual  play  of  a 
joyous  and  fertile  imagination!  In  a  word,  what 
tone  in  all  the  grand  and  melting  music  of  our  lan- 
guage is  there,  which  is  not  heard  in  some  portion 
of  his  speeches  or  writings ;  while  reason,  sense,  and 
truth  compose  the  basis  of  the  strain?  Like  the  sky 
above  us,  it  is  sometimes  serene  and  cloudless,  and' 
peace  and  love  shine  out  from  its  starry  depths.  At 
other  times  the  gallant  streamers,  in  wild,  fantastic 
play,  —  emerald,  and  rose,  and  orange,  and  fleecy 
white,  —  shoot  upward  from  the  horizon,  mingle  in  a 
fiery  canopy  at  the  zenith,  and  throw  out  their  flick- 
ering curtains  over  the  heavens  and  the  earth ;  while 
at  other  times  the  mustering  tempest  piles  his  lower- 
ing battlements  on  the  sides  of  the  north,  a  furious 
>torm-wind  rushes  forth  from  their  blazing  loop-holes, 
and  volleyed  thunders  give  the  signal  of  the  elemental 
war! 

Another  quality,  which  appears  to  me  to  be  very 
conspicuous  in  all  Mr.  Webster's  speeches,  is  the 
fairness  and  candor  with  which  he  treats  the  argument 
of  his  opponent,  and  the  total  absence  of  offensive 


83 


personality.  He  was  accustomed,  in  preparing  to 
argue  a  question  at  the  bar,  or  to  debate  it  in  the 
Senate,  first  to  state  his  opponent's  case  or  argument 
in  his  own  mind,  with  as  much  force  and  skill  as  if  it 
were  his  own  view  of  the  subject,  not  deeming  it 
worthy  of  a  statesman  discussing  the  great  issues  of 
the  public  weal,  to  assail  and  prostrate  a  man  of 
straw,  and  call  it  a  victory  over  his  antagonist.  True 
to  his  party  associations,  there  was  the  least  possible 
mingling  of  the  partisan  in  his  parliamentary  efforts. 
No  one,  I  think,  ever  truly  said  of  him,  that  he  had 
either  misrepresented  or  failed  to  grapple  fairly  with 
the  argument  which  he  undertook  to  confute.  That 
he  possessed  the  power  of  invective  in  the  highest 
degree  is  well  known,  from  the  display  of  it  on  a  few 
occasions,  when  great  provocation  justified  and 
required  it;  but  he  habitually  abstained  from 
offensive  personality,  regarding  it  as  an  indication 
always  of  a  bad  temper,  and  generally  of  a  weak 
cause. 

I  notice,  lastly,  a  sort  of  judicial  dignity  in  Mr. 
Webster's  mode  of  treating  public  questions,  which 
may  be  ascribed  to  the  high  degree  in  which  he 
united,  in  the  range  of  his  studies  and  the  habits  of 
his  life,  the  jurist  with  the  statesman.  There  were 
occasions,  and  those  not  a  few,  when,  but  for  the 
locality  from  which  he  spoke,  you  might  have  been 
at  a  loss,  whether  you  were  listening  to  the  accom- 


84 


plished  senator  unfolding  the  principles  of  the  Con- 
stitution as  a  system  of  government,  or  the  consum- 
mate jurist  applying  its  legislative  provisions  to  the 
practical  interests  of  life.  In  the  Dartmouth  College 
case,  and  that  of  Gibbons  and  Ogden,  the  dryness  of 
a  professional  argument  is  forgotten  in  the  breadth 
and  elevation  of  the  constitutional  principles  shown 
to  be  involved  in  the  issue;  while  in  the  great 
speeches  on  the  interpretation  of  the  Constitution,  a 
severe  judicial  logic  darts  its  sunbeams  into  the 
deepest  recesses  of  a  written  compact  of  government, 
intended  to  work  out  a  harmonious  adjustment  of  the 
antagonistic  principles  of  federal  and  state  sovereignty. 
None,  I  think,  but  a  great  statesman  could  have 
performed  Mr.  Webster's  part  before  the  highest 
tribunals  of  the  land ;  none  but  a  great  lawyer  could 
have  sustained  himself  as  he  did  on  the  floor  of  the 
Senate.  In  fact,  he  rose  to  that  elevation  at  which 
the  law,  in  its  highest  conception,  and  in  its  versatile 
functions  and  agencies,  as  the  great  mediator  between 
the  state  and  the  individual ;  the  shield  by  which  the 
weakness  of  the  single  man  is  protected  from  the 
violence  and  craft  of  his  fellows,  and  clothed  for  the 
defence  of  his  rights  with  the  mighty  power  of  the 
mass;  which  watches,  faithful  guardian,  over  the  life 
and  property  of  the  orphan  in  the  cradle ;  spreads  the 
aegis  of  the  public  peace  alike  over  the  crowded  streets 
of  great  cities  and  the  solitary  pathways  of  the  wil- 


85 


derness ;  which  convoys  the  merchant  and  his  cargo 
in  safety  to  and  from  the  ends  of  the  earth ;  prescribes 
the  gentle  humanities  of  civilization  to  contending 
armies;  sits  serene  umpire  of  the  clashing  interests 
of  confederated  states,  and  moulds  them  all  into  one 
grand  union; — I  say  Mr.  Webster  rose  to  an  elevation 
at  which  all  these  attributes  and  functions  of  universal 
law, — in  action  alternately  executive,  legislative,  and 
judicial ;  in  form  successively  constitution,  statute,  and 
decree, — are  mingled  into  one  harmonious,  protecting, 
strengthening,  vitalizing,  sublime  system;  brightest 
image  on  earth  of  that  ineffable  Sovereign  Energy, 
which,  with  mingled  power,  wisdom,  and  love,  upholds 
and  governs  the  universe. 

THE   CENTRAL   IDEA   OF   HIS    POLITICAL    SYSTEM. 

Led  equally  by  his  professional  occupations  and 
his  political  duties  to  make  the  Constitution  the 
object  of  his  profoundest  study  and  meditation,  he 
regarded  it,  with  peculiar  reverence,  as  a  Covenant 
of  Union  between  the  members  of  this  great  and 
increasing  family  of  States;  and  in  that  respect  he 
considered  it  as  the  most  important  document  ever 
penned  by  the  hand  of  uninspired  man.  I  need 
not  tell  you  that  this  reverence  for  the  Constitu- 
tion as  the  covenant  of  union  between  the  States 
was  the  central  idea  of  his  political  system,  which, 


86 


however,  in  this,  as  in  all  other  respects,  aimed  at 
a  wise  and  safe  balance  of  extreme  opinions.  He 
valued,  as  much  as  any  man  can  possibly  value  it, 
the  principle  of  State  sovereignty.  He  looked  upon 
the  organization  of  these  separate  independent  re- 
publics—  of  different  sizes,  different  ages  and  histories, 
different  geographical  positions,  and  local  interests, 
as  furnishing  a  security  of  inappreciable  value  for 
a  wise  and  beneficent  administration  of  local  affairs, 
and  the  protection  of  individual  and  local  rights. 
But  he  regarded  as  an  approach  to  the  perfection 
of  political  wisdom,  the  moulding  of  these  separate 
and  independent  sovereignties,  with  all  their  pride 
of  individual  right  and  all  their  jealousy  of  indi- 
vidual consequence,  into  a  well-compacted  whole. 
He  never  weighed  the  two  principles  against  each 
other;  he  held  them  complemental  to  each  other, 
equally  and  supremely  vital  and  essential. 

I  happened,  one  bright  starry  night,  to  be  walk- 
ing home  with  him  at  a  late  hour,  from  the  Capitol 
at  Washington,  after  a  skirmishing  debate,  in  which 
he  had  been  speaking,  at  no  great  length,  but  with 
much  earnestness  and  warmth,  on  the  subject  of  the 
Constitution  as  forming  a  united  government.  The 
planet  Jupiter,  shining  with  unusual  brilliancy,  was 
in  full  view.  He  paused  as  we  descended  Capitol 
Hill,  and  unconsciously  pursuing  the  train  of  thought 
which  he  had  been  enforcing  in  the  Senate,  pointed 


87 


to  the  planet  and  said, — "'  Night  unto  night  show- 
eth  knowledge;'  take  away  the  independent  force, 
emanating  from  the  hand  of  the  Supreme,  which 
impels  that  planet  onward,  and  it  would  plunge  in 
hideous  ruin  from  those  beautiful  skies  into  the 
sun;  take  away  the  central  attraction  of  the  sun, 
and  the  attendant  planet  would  shoot  madly  from 
its  sphere;  urged  and  restrained  by  the  balanced 
forces,  it  wheels  its  eternal  circles  through  the 
heavens." 

• 

HE   CONTEMPLATES    A   WORK   ON   THE   CONSTITUTION. 

His  reverence  for  the  Constitution  led  him  to 
meditate  a  work  in  which  the  history  of  its  forma- 
tion and  adoption  should  be  traced,  its  principles 
unfolded  and  explained,  its  analogies  with  other 
governments  investigated,  its  expansive  fitness  to 
promote  the  prosperity  of  the  country  for  ages  yet 
to  come  developed  and  maintained.  His  thoughts 
had  long  flowed  in  this  channel.  The  subject  was 
not  only  the  one  on  which  he  had  bestowed  his 
most  earnest  parliamentary  efforts;  but  it  formed 
the  point  of  reference  of  much  of  his  historical  and 
miscellaneous  reading.  He  was  anxious  to  learn  what 
the  experience  of  mankind  taught  on  the  subject  of 
governments,  in  any  degree  resembling  our  own.  As 
our  fathers,  in  forming  the  Confederation,  and  still 


88 


more  the  members  of  the  Convention  which  framed 
the  Constitution,  and  especially  Washington,  studied 
with  diligence  the  organization  of  all  the  former 
compacts  of  government, — those  of  the  Netherlands, 
of  Switzerland,  and  ancient  Greece, — so  Mr.  Webster 
directed  special  attention  to  all  the  former  leagues 
and  confederacies  of  modern  and  ancient  times,  for 
lessons  and  analogies  of  encouragement  and  warning 
to  his  countrymen.  He  dwelt  much  on  the  Amphic- 
tyonic  league  of  Greece,  one  of  the  confederacies  to 
which  the  framers  of  the  Constitution  often  referred, 

• 

and  which  is  frequently  spoken  of  as  a  species  of 
federal  government.  Unhappily  for  Greece,  it  had 
little  claim  to  that  character.  Founded  originally 
on  a  confraternity  of  religious  rites,  it  was  expanded 
in  the  lapse  of  time  into  a  loose  political  associa- 
tion, but  was  destitute  of  all  the  powers  of  an 
organized  efficient  government.  On  this  subject  Mr. 
Webster  found  a  remark  in  Grote's  History  of 
Greece,  which  struck  him  as  being  of  extreme  sig- 
nificance to  the  people  of  the  United  States.  Occa- 
sionally, says  Grote,  "there  was  a  partial  pretence 
for  the  imposing  title  bestowed  upon  the  Amphic- 
tyonic  league  by  Cicero,  '  Commune  Grascise  Concil- 
ium,' but  we  should  completely  misinterpret  Grecian 
history,  if  we  regarded  it  as  a  federal  council  habit- 
ually directing,  or  habitually  obeyed."  "And  now," 
said  Mr.  Webster,  "comes  a  passage,  which  ought 


89 


to  be  written  in  letters  of  gold  over  the  door  of 
the  Capitol  and  of  every  State  Legislature:  'Had 
there  existed  any  such  "Commune  Concilium"  of 
tolerable  wisdom  and  patriotism,  and  had  the  ten- 
dencies of  the  Hellenic  mind  been  capable  of  adapting 
themselves  to  it,  the  whole  course  of  later  Grecian 
history  would  probably  have  been  altered;  the  Mace- 
donian kings  would  have  remained  only  as  respectable 
neighbors,  borrowing  their  civilization  from  Greece, 
and  exercising  their  military  energies  upon  Thracians 
and  Illyrians;  while  united  Hellas  might  have  main- 
tamed  her  own  territory  against  the  conquering 
legions  of  Rome.' "  *  A  wise  and  patriotic  federal 
government  would  have  preserved  Greece  from  the 
Macedonian  phalanx  and  the  Roman  legions ! 

Professional  and  official  labors  engrossed  Mr.  Web- 
ster's time,  and  left  him  no  leisure  for  the  execu- 
tion of  his  meditated  work  on  the  Constitution, — 
a  theme  which,  as  he  would  have  treated  it,  tracing 
it  back  to  its  historical  fountains,  and  forward  to 
its  prophetical  issues,  seems  to  me,  in  the  wide  range 
of  its  topics,  to  embrace  higher  and  richer  elements 
of  thought,  for  the  American  statesman  and  patriot, 
than  any  other  not  directly  connected  with  the 
spiritual  welfare  of  man. 

*  Grote's  History  of  Greece.     Vol.  II.  p.  336. 
12 


90 


MAGNITUDE    OF    THE    THEME.       THE    FUTURE    OF    THE    UNION. 

What  else  is  there,  in  the  material  system  of  the 
world,  so  wonderful  as  this  concealment  of  the 
Western  Hemisphere  for  ages  behind  the  mighty 
veil  of  waters?  How  could  such  a  secret  be  kept 
from  the  foundation  of  the  world  till  the  end  of 
the  fifteenth  century  ?  What  so  astonishing  as  the 
concurrence,  within  less  than  a  century,  of  the  in- 
vention of  printing,  the  demonstration  of  the  true 
system  of  the  heavens,  and  this  great  world-discov- 
ery ?  What  so  mysterious  as  the  dissociation  of  the 
native  tribes  of  this  continent  from  the  civilized 
and  civilizable  races  of  men?  What  so  remarkable, 
in  political  history,  as  the  operation  of  the  influences, 
now  in  conflict,  now  in  harmony,  under  which  the 
various  nations  of  the  Old  World  sent  their  children 
to  occupy  the  New :  great  populations  silently  steal- 
ing into  existence;  the  wilderness  of  one  century 
swarming  in  the  next  with  millions,  —  ascending  the 
streams,  crossing  the  mountains,  struggling  with  a 
wild,  hard  nature,  with  savage  foes,  with  rival  settle- 
ments of  foreign  powers,  but  ever  onward,  onward  ? 
What  so  propitious  as  this  long  colonial  training 
in  the  school  of  chartered  government  ?  And  then, 
when  the  fulness  of  time  had  come,  what  so  ma- 
jestic, amidst  all  its  vicissitudes,  and  all  its  trials,  as 


91 


the  Grand  Separation,  —  mutually  beneficial,  in  its 
final  results,  to  both  parties,  —  the  dread  appeal  to 
arms,  that  venerable  Continental  Congress,  the  august 
Declaration,  the  strange  alliance  of  the  oldest  mon- 
archy of  Europe  with  the  infant  Republic?  And, 
lastly,  what  so  worthy  the  admiration  of  men  and 
angels,  as  the  appearance  of  him  the  expected,  him 
the  hero,  raised  up  to  conduct  the  momentous  con- 
flict to  its  auspicious  issue  in  the  Confederation,  the 
Union,  the  Constitution? 

Is  this  a  theme  not  unworthy  of  the  pen  and  the 
mind  of  Webster  ?  Then  consider  the  growth  of  the 
country,  thus  politically  ushered  into  existence  and 
organized  under  that  Constitution,  as  delineated  in 
his  address  on  the  laying  the  corner-stone  of  the 
extension  of  the  Capitol, — the  thirteen  colonies  that 
accomplished  the  revolution  multiplied  to  thirty-three 
independent  States,  a  single  one  of  them  exceeding 
in  population  the  old  thirteen ;  the  narrow  border  of 
settlement  along  the  coast,  fenced  in  by  France  and 
the  native  tribes,  expanded  to  the  dimensions  of  the 
continent ;  Louisiana,  Florida,  Texas,  New  Mexico, 
California,  Oregon, —  territories  equal  to  the  great 
monarchies  of  Europe  —  added  to  the  Union ;  and 
the  two  millions  of  population  which  warmed  the  im- 
agination of  Burke,  swelled  to  twenty-four  millions, 
during  the  lifetime  of  Mr.  Webster,  and  in  seven 
short  years,  which  have  since  elapsed,  increased  to 
thirty ! 


92 


With  these  stupendous  results  in  his  own  time  as 
the  unit  of  calculation ;  beholding  under  Providence 
with  each  decade  of  years  a  new  people,  millions 
strong,  emigrants  in  part  from  the  old  world,  but 
mainly  bone  of  our  bone  and  flesh  of  our  flesh,  the 
children  of  the  soil,  growing  up  to  inhabit  the  waste 
places  of  the  continent,  to  inherit  and  transmit  the 
rights  and  blessings  which  we  have  received  from 
our  fathers ;  recognizing  in  the  Constitution  and  in 
the  Union  established  by  it  the  creative  influence 
which,  as  far  as  human  agencies  go,  has  wrought 
these  miracles  of  growth  and  progress,  and  which 
wraps  up  in  sacred  reserve  the  expansive  energy 
with  which  the  work  is  to  be  carried  on  and  per- 
fected,—  he  looked  forward  with  patriotic  aspiration 
to  the  time  when,  beneath  its  aegis,  the  whole  wealth 
of  our  civilization  would  be  poured  out,  not  only  to 
fill  up  the  broad  interstices  of  settlement,  if  I  may 
so  express  myself,  in  the  old  thirteen  and  their 
young  and  thriving  sister  States,  already  organized 
in  the  West,  but,  in  the  lapse  of  time  to  found  a 
hundred  new  republics  in  the  valley  of  the  Missouri 
and  beyond  the  Rocky  Mountains,  till  our  letters 
and  our  arts,  our  schools  and  our  churches,  our  laws 
and  our  liberties,  shall  be  carried  from  the  Arctic 
circle  to  the  tropics;  "from  the  rising  of  the  sun  to 
the  going  down  thereof." 


93 


VIEWS    OF    THE    PRESENT. 

This  prophetic  glance,  not  merely  at  the  impending, 
but  the  distant  futute,  this  reliance  on  the  fulfilment 
of  the  great  design  of  Providence,  illustrated  through 
our  whole  history,  to  lavish  upon  the  people  of  this 
country  the  accumulated  blessings  of  all  former 
stages  of  human  progress,  made  him  more  tolerant 
of  the  tardy  and  irregular  advances  and  temporary 
wanderings  from  the  path  of  what  he  deemed  a  wise 
and  sound  policy,  than  those  fervid  spirits,  who  dwell 
exclusively  in  the  present,  and  make  less  allowance 
for  the  gradual  operation  of  moral  influences.  This 
was  the  case  in  reference  to  the  great  sectional 
controversy,  which  now  so  sharply  divides  and  so 
violently  agitates  the  country.  He  not  only  confi- 
dently anticipated,  what  the  lapse  of  seven  years 
since  his  decease  has  witnessed  and  is  witnessing, 
that  the  newly  acquired  and  the  newly  organized 
territories  of  the  Union  would  grow  up  into  free 
States ;  but,  in  common  with  all,  or  nearly  all,  the 
statesmen  of  the  last  generation,  he  believed  that 
free  labor  would  ultimately  prevail  throughout  the 
country.  He  thought  he  saw  that,  in  the  operation 
of  the  same  causes  which  have  produced  this  result 
in  the  Middle  and  Eastern  States,  it  was  visibly 
taking  place  in  the  States  north  of  the  cotton-growing 
region ;  and  he  inclined  to  the  opinion  that  there 


94 


also,  under  the  influence  of  physical  and  economical 
causes,  free  labor  would  eventually  be  found  most 
productive,  and  would,  therefore,  be  ultimately  estab- 
lished. 

For  these  reasons,  bearing  in  mind  what  all  admit, 
that  the  complete  solution  of  the  mighty  problem 
which  now  so  greatly  tasks  the  prudence  and  pat- 
riotism of  the  wisest  and  best  in  the  land,  is  beyond 
the  delegated  powers  of  the  general  government; 
that  it  depends,  as  far  as  the  States  are  concerned, 
on  their  independent  legislation,  and  that  it  is,  of 
all  others,  a  subject  in  reference  to  which  public 
opinion  and  public  sentiment  will  most  powerfully 
influence  the  law;  that  much  in  the  lapse  of  tune, 
without  law,  is  likely  to  be  brought  about  by  degrees, 
and  gradually  done  and  permitted,  as  in  Missouri  at 
the  present  day,  while  nothing  is  to  be  hoped  from 
external  interference,  whether  of  exhortation  or 
rebuke ;  that  in  all  human  affairs  controlled  by  self- 
governing  communities,  extreme  opinions  and  extreme 
courses,  on  the  one  hand,  generally  lead  to  extreme 
opinions  and  extreme  courses  on  the  other ;  and 
that  nothing  will  more  contribute  to  the  earliest 
practicable  relief  of  the  country  from  this  most  pro- 
lific source  of  conflict  and  estrangement,  than  to 
prevent  its  being  introduced  into  our  party  organ- 
izations,—  he  deprecated  its  being  allowed  to  find 
a  place  among  the  political  issues  of  the  day,  north 


95 


or  south;  and  seeking  a  platform  on  which  honest 
and  patriotic  men  might  meet  and  stand,  he  thought 
he  had  found  it,  where  our  fathers  did,  in  the  Con- 
stitution. 

It  is  true,  that  in  interpreting  the  fundamental 
law  on  this  subject,  a  diversity  of  opinion  between 
the  two  sections  of  the  Union  presents  itself.  This 
has  ever  been  the  case,  first  or  last,  in  relation  to 
every  great  question  that  has  divided  the  country. 
It  is  the  unfailing  incident  of  constitutions,  written 
or  unwritten ;  an  evil  to  be  dealt  with  in  good  faith, 
by  prudent  and  enlightened  men  in  both  sections 
of  the  Union,  seeking,  as  Washington  sought,  the 
public  good,  and  giving  expression  to  the  patriotic 
common  sense  of  the  people. 

Such,  I  have  reason  to  believe,  were  the  principles 
entertained  by  Mr.  Webster;  not  certainly  those 
best  calculated  to  win  a  temporary  popularity  in 
any  part  of  the  Union,  in  tunes  of  passionate  sectional 
agitation,  which,  between  the  extremes  of  opinion, 
leaves  no  middle  ground  for  moderate  counsels.  If 
any  one  could  have  found,  and  could  have  trodden 
such  ground  with  success,  he  would  seem  to  have 
been  qualified  to  do  it,  by  his  transcendent  talent, 
his  mature  experience,  his  approved  temper  and 
calmness,  and  his  tried  patriotism.  If  he  failed  of 
finding  such  a  path  for  himself  or  the  country, — 
while  we  thoughtfully  await  what  time  and  an  all- 


96 


wise  Providence  has  in  store  for  ourselves  and  our 
children,  —  let  us  remember  that  his  attempt  was 
the  highest  and  the  purest  which  can  engage  the 
thoughts  of  a  statesman  and  a  patriot,  —  peace  on 
earth,  good  will  toward  men ;  harmony  and  broth- 
erly love  among  the  children  of  our  common 
country. 

And  oh,  my  friends!  if  among  those,  who,  dif- 
fering from  him  on  this  or  any  other  subject,  have 
yet,  with  generous  forgetfulness  of  that  which  sep- 
arated you,  and  kindly  remembrance  of  all  you  held 
in  common,  come  up  this  day  to  do  honor  to  his 
memory,  there  are  any  who  suppose  that  he  cher- 
ished less  tenderly  than  yourselves  the  great  ideas 
of  Liberty,  Humanity,  and  Brotherhood ;  that  because 
he  was  faithful  to  the  duties  which  he  inferred  from 
the  Constitution  and  the  Law,  to  which  he  looked 
for  the  government  of  civil  society,  he  was  less 
sensible  than  yourselves  to  the  broader  relations 
and  deeper  sympathies  which  unite  us  to  our  fellow- 
creatures,  as  brethren  of  one  family,  and  children 
of  one  Heavenly  Father,  —  believe  me,  you  do  his 
memory  a  grievous  wrong. 

PERSONAL    CHARACTER. 

This  is  not  the  occasion  to  dwell  upon  the  per- 
sonal character  of  Mr.  Webster,  on  the  fascination 


97 


of  his  social  intercourse,  or  the  charm  of  his  domestic 
life.  Something  I  could  have  said  on  his  compan- 
ionable disposition  and  habits,  his  genial  temper, 
the  resources  and  attractions  of  his  conversation,  his 
love  of  nature,  alike  in  her  wild  and  cultivated 
aspects,  and  his  keen  perception  of  the  beauties  of 
this  fair  world  in  which  we  live ;  something  of  his 
devotion  to  agricultural  pursuits,  which,  next  to  his 
professional  and  public  duties,  formed  the  occupation 
of  his  life ;  something  of  his  fondness  for  athletic 
and  manly  sports  and  exercises ;  something  of  his 
friendships,  and  of  his  attachments  closer  than 
friendships,  —  the  son,  the  brother,  the  husband,  and 
the  father;  something  of  the  joys  and  sorrows  of 
his  home ;  of  the  strength  of  his  religious  convictions, 
his  testimony  to  the  truth  of  the  Christian  revela- 
tion; the  tenderness  and  sublimity  of  the  parting 
scene.  Something  on  these  topics  I  have  elsewhere 
said,  and  may  not  here  repeat. 

Some  other  things,  my  friends,  with  your  indul- 
gence, standing  here  to  perform  this  last  office  to  his 
memory,  I  would  say ;  thoughts,  memories,  which 
crowd  upon  me,  —  too  vivid  to  be  repressed,  too 
personal,  almost,  to  be  uttered. 

On  the  17th  of  July,  1804,  a  young  man  from 
New  Hampshire  arrived  in  Boston,  all  but  penniless, 
and  all  but  friendless.  He  was  twenty-two  years  of 
age,  and  had  come  to  take  the  first  steps  in  the 


98 


career  of  life  at  the  capital  of  New  England.  Three 
days  after  arriving  in  Boston,  he  presented  himself, 
without  letters  of  recommendation,  to  Mr.  Christo- 
pher Gore,  then  just  returned  from  England,  after 
an  official  residence  of  some  years,  and  solicited  a 
place  in  his  office,  as  a  clerk.  His  only  introduction 
was  by  a  young  man  as  little  known  to  Mr.  Gore 
as  himself,  and  who  went  to  pronounce  his  name, 
which  he  did  so  indistinctly  as  not  to  be  heard. 
His  slender  figure,  striking  countenance,  large  dark 
eye,  and  massy  brow,  his  general  appearance  indicate 
ing  a  delicate  organization,*  his  manly  carriage  and 
modest  demeanor,  arrested  attention  and  inspired 
confidence.  His  humble  suit  was  granted,  he  was 
received  into  the  office,  and  had  been  there  a  week 
before  Mr.  Gore  learned  that  his  name  was  DANIEL 
WEBSTER!  His  older  brother,  —  older  in  years,  but 
later  in  entering  life,  —  (for  whose  education  Daniel, 
while  teacher  of  the  Academy  at  Fryeburg,  had 
drudged  till  midnight  in  the  office  of  the  Register 
of  Deeds),  at  that  time  taught  a  small  school  in 
Short  street  (now  Kingston  street),  in  Boston;  and 
while  he  was  in  attendance  at  the  commencement 
at  Dartmouth,  in  1804,  to  receive  his  degree,  Daniel 
supplied  his  place.  At  that  school,  at  the  age  of 
ten,  I  was  then  a  pupil,  and  there  commenced  a 

*  Description  by  Mrs.  Eliza  Buckminsler  Lee,  "  Webster's  Private  Cor- 
respondence," i.  438. 


99 


friendship  which  lasted,  without  interruption  or  chill, 
while  his  life  lasted ;  of  which,  while  mine  lasts,  the 
grateful  recollection  will  never  perish.  From  that 
time  forward,  I  knew,  and  as  I  knew,  I  respected,  I 
honored,  I  loved  him.  I  saw  him  at  all  seasons  and 
on  all  occasions,  in  the  flush  of  public  triumph,  in 
the  intimacy  of  the  fireside,  in  the  most  unreserved 
interchange  of  personal  confidence ;  in  health  and  in 
sickness,  in  sorrow  and  in  joy ;  when  early  honors 
began  to  wreathe  his  brow,  and  in  after-life  through 
most  of  the  important  scenes  of  his  public  career.  I 
saw  him  on  occasions  that  show  the  manly  strength, 
and,  what  is  better,  the  manly  weakness  of  the  human 
heart;  and  I  declare  this  day,  in  the  presence  of 
Heaven  and  of  men,  that  I  never  heard  from  him 
the  expression  of  a  wish  unbecoming  a  good  citizen 
and  a  patriot,  —  the  utterance  of  a  word  unworthy 
a  gentleman  and  a  Christian ;  that  I  never  knew 
a  more  generous  spirit,  a  safer  adviser,  a  warmer 
friend. 

Do  you  ask  me  if  he  had  faults  ?  I  answer,  he 
was  a  man.  Do  you  again  ask  me  the  question? 
Look  in  your  own  breast,  and  get  the  answer  there. 
Do  you  still  insist  on  explicit  information  ?  Let  me 
give  it  to  you,  my  immaculate  friend,  in  the  words 
which  were  spoken  eighteen  hundred  years  ago  to 
certain  who  trusted  in  themselves  that  they  were 
righteous  and  despised  others :  — 


100 


Two  men  went  up  into  the  temple  to  pray;  the  one  a 
Pharisee,  and  the  other  a  publican. 

The  Pharisee  stood  and  prayed  thus  with  himself:  God,  I 
thank  thee  that  I  am  not  as  other  men  are,  extortioners,  unjust, 
adulterers,  or  even  as  this  publican. 

I  fast  twice  in  the  week,  I  give  tithes  of  all  that  I  possess. 

And  the  publican  standing  afar  ofij  would  not  lift  up  so  much 
as  his  eyes  unto  heaven,  but  smote  upon  his  breast,  saying, 
God,  be  merciful  to  me  a  sinner. 

I  tell  you,  This  man  went  down  to  his  house  justified  rather 
than  the  other. 

Yes,  he  had  some  of  the  faults  of  a  lofty  spirit, 
a  genial  temperament,  an  open  hand,  and  a  warm 
heart;  he  had  none  of  the  faults  of  a  grovelling, 
mean,  and  malignant  nature.  He  had  especially  the 
"last  infirmity  of  noble  mind,"  and  had  no  doubt 
raised  an  aspiring  eye  to  the  highest  object  of 
political  ambition.  But  he  did  it  hi  the  honest 
pride  of  a  capacity  equal  to  the  station,  and  with 
a  consciousness  that  he  should  reflect  back  the  honor 
which  it  conferred.  He  might  say,  with  Burke,  that 
"he  had  no  arts  but  honest  arts;"  and  if  he  sought 
the  highest  honors  of  the  state,  he  did  it  by  unsur- 
passed talent,  laborious  service,  and  patriotic  devotion 
to  the  public  good. 

It  was  not  given  to  him,  any  more  than  to  the 
other  members  of  the  great  triumvirate  with  whom 
his  name  is  habitually  associated,  to  attain  the  object 
of  their  ambition ;  but  posterity  will  do  them  justice, 
and  begins  already  to  discharge  the  debt  of  respect 
and  gratitude.  A  noble  mausoleum  in  honor  of  Clay, 


101 


and  his  statue  by  Hart,  are  in  progress ;  the  statue 
of  Calhoun,  by  Powers,  adorns  the  Court  House 
in  Charleston,  and  a  magnificent  monument  to  his 
memory  is  in  preparation ;  and  we  present  you  this 
day,  fellow-citizens,  the  Statue  of  Webster,  in  enduring 
bronze,  on  a  pedestal  of  granite  from  his  native  State, 
the  noble  countenance  modelled  from  life,  at  the 
meridian  of  his  days  and  his  fame,  and  to  his  own 
satisfaction,  and  his  person  reproduced,  from  faithful 
recollection,  by  the  oldest  and  most  distinguished 
of  the  living  artists  of  the  country.  He  sleeps  by 
the  multitudinous  ocean,  which  he  himself  so  much 
resembled,  in  its  mighty  movement  and  its  mighty 
repose;  but  his  monumental  form  shall  henceforward 
stand  sentry  at  the  portals  of  the  Capitol,  —  the 
right  hand  pointing  to  that  symbol  of  the  Union  on 
which  the  left  reposes,  and  his  imperial  gaze  directed, 
with  the  hopes  of  the  country,  to  the  boundless 
West.  In  a  few  short  years,  we,  whose  eyes  have 
rested  on  his  majestic  person,  whose  ears  have  drunk 
in  the  music  of  his  clarion  voice,  shall  have  gone  to 
our  rest ;  but  our  children,  for  ages  to  come,  as  they 
dwell  with  awe-struck  gaze  upon  the  monumental 
bronze,  shall  say,  Oh  that  we  could  have  seen,  oh 
that  we  could  have  heard,  the  great  original ! 

Two  hundred  and  twenty-nine  years  ago,  this  day, 
our  beloved  city  received,  from  the  General  Court  of 
the  Colony,  the  honored  name  of  Boston.  On  the 


102 


long  roll  of  those  whom  she  has  welcomed  to  her 
nurturing  bosom,  is  there  a  name  which  shines 
with  a  brighter  lustre  than  his  ?  Seventy-two  years 
ago,  this  day,  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States 
was  tendered  to  the  acceptance  of  the  people  by 
George  Washington.  Who,  of  all  the  gifted  and  pat- 
riotic of  the  land,  that  have  adorned  the  interval,  has 
done  more  to  unfold  its  principles,  maintain  its 
purity,  and  to  promote  its  duration? 

Here,  then,  beneath  the  walls  of  the  Capitol  of  old 
Massachusetts ;  here,  within  the  sight  of  those  fair 
New  England  villages ;  here,  in  the  near  vicinity  of 
the  graves  of  those  who  planted  the  germs  of  all 
this  palmy  growth ;  here,  within  the  sound  of  sacred 
bells  ;  here,  in  the  presence  of  this  vast  multitude,  — 
we  raise  this  monument,  with  loving  hearts,  to  the 
Statesman,  the  Patriot,  the  Fellow-Citizen,  the  neigh- 
bor, the  friend.  Long  may  it  guard  the  approach  to 
our  halls  of  council !  long  may  it  look  out  upon  a 
prosperous,  a  happy,  and  a  united  country !  and,  if 
days  of  trial  and  disaster  should  come,  and  the  arm 
of  flesh  should  fail,  doubt  not  that  the  monumental 
form  would  descend  from  its  pedestal,  to  stand  in  the 
front  rank  of  the  peril,  and  the  bronze  lips  repeat 
the  cry  of  the  living  voice,  —  "Liberty  and  Union, 
now  and  forever,  one  and  inseparable." 


REPETITION  OF  THE  FOREGOING  EULOGY. 


On  motion  of  Hon.  E.  G.  Parker,  in  the  Senate  of  Massachusetts,  the  following  order 
was  adopted,  inviting  a  repetition,  in  the  presence  of  the  two  Houses,  of  the  foregoing 
Eulogy. 

Commonwealth  of  Massachusetts. 

STATE  HOUSE,  SENATE  CHAMBER.  ) 
BOSTON,  Sept.  19,  1859.          $ 

Ordered,  That  the  President  of  the  Senate  and  the  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Rep- 
resentatives be  requested,  in  behalf  of  the  Legislature,  to  invite  the  Honorable  Edward 
Everett  to  deliver  his  oration  on  the  inauguration  of  the  Statue  of  Daniel  Webster, 
before  the  Legislature  of  the  Commonwealth,  in  the  grounds  of  the  Capitol,  on  Wed- 
nesday next,  at  3  o'clock  P.  M.,  or  at  such  time  as  may  suit  his  convenience. 
Sent  down  for  concurrence. 

(Copy.)  House  of  Representatives,  Sept.  19,  1859. 

Concurred. 

WILLIAM  STOWE,  Ckrk. 

To  this  invitation  the  following  answer  was  returned  by  Mr.  Everett : 

BOSTON,  Sept.  19, 1859. 
Hon.  C.  A.  PHELPS,  President  of  the  Senate,  and  Hon.  CHARLES  HALE,  Speaker  of 

the  House  of  Representatives. 

GENTLEMEN: — I  have  received  the  copy  of  a  Resolution  passed  this  day,  by  the 
two  Houses  in  concurrence,  requesting  me,  through  their  presiding  officers,  to  deliver 
before  the  Legislature,  in  the  Capitol  grounds,  my  oration  on  the  inauguration  of  the 
statue  of  Daniel  Webster. 

It  will  afford  me  great  pleasure  to  comply  with  the  wishes  of  the  Legislature,  on 
Thursday  next,  at  3  o'clock  P.  M.,  and  I  beg  leave,  through  you,  to  express  to  them 
my  grateful  sense  of  the  honor  done  me,  by  their  invitation. 

I  remain,  gentlemen,  with  the  highest  respect,  truly  yours, 

EDWARD  EVERETT. 

The  weather  proved  unfavorable  on  the  day  first  appointed,  and  on  several  succes- 
sive days.  At  length  on  Tuesday  the  27th,  in  a  remarkably  propitious  state  of  the 
weather,  and  in  the  presence  of  an  immense  multitude,  the  repetition  took  place . 
The  members  of  the  Executive  and  Legislature  having  been  seated  on  the  spacious 
platform,  erected  in  front  of  the  principal  entrance  of  the  State  House,  Mr.  Everett 
was  introduced  by  the  Committee  of  Arrangements,  and  by  their  Chairman,  Hon.  E. 
G  Parker,  of  the  Senate,  presented  to  the  presiding  officer  of  that  body,  Hon.  C.  A. 
Phelps,  in  the  following  terms : 

MR.  PRESIDENT:  —  As  Chairman  of  the  Committee  of  Arrangements,  I  have  to 
introduce  to  you  the  orator  of  this  occasion.  He  has  been  invited  by  the  Legislature 
to  deliver  his  address  inaugurating  the  statue  of  Daniel  Webster  before  them.  He  is 
here,  prepared  to  address  you.  I  need  not  introduce  him  to  you ;  I  have  but  to  name 
the  Hon.  EDWARD  EVERETT. 

Mr.  Everett  was  then  introduced  to  the  members  of  the  two  Houses  by  Hon.  C.  A. 
Phelps,  President  of  the  Senate,  in  the  following  brief  address : 


UCSB   LIBRARY 


104 


Gentlemen  of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives: 

The  two  branches  of  the  Legislature  have  assembled  in  conformity  with  a  vote 
passed  on  the  19th  inst,  to  listen  to  an  oration  on  the  inauguration  of  the  statue  of 
Daniel  Webster. 

No  official  action  of  ours  was  necessary  to  perpetuate  the  fame  of  Webster.  But 
our  predecessors  of  a  former  generation  invoked  the  eloquence  of  Adams  to  give  utter- 
ance to  their  then  recent  sorrow  on  the  death  of  the  beloved  and  illustrious  Washing- 
ton, and  those  of  a  more  recent  day  invited  our  distinguished  fellow-citizen,  who  is 
about  to  address  us,  to  speak  to  them  of  the  life  and  character  of  John  Quincy  Adams. 

In  obedience  to  this  high  example,  it  has  seemed  eminently  fit  and  proper  that  to- 
day in  the  portals  of  the  Capitol,  we  should  honor  the  memory  of  one  whose  name  and 
fame  must  be  forever  associated  with  the  historic  glories  of  our  beloved  Common- 
wealth. I  have  now  the  pleasure  of  presenting  to  you  the  Honorable  Edward  Everett. 

To  this  address,  Mr.  Everett  replied  in  the  following  manner: 

Mr.  President,  Gentlemen  of  the  Senate  and  of  the  House  of  Representatives : 

In  rising  to  repeat,  in  your  presence  and  at  your  request,  the  discourse  prepared  for 
the  dedication  of  the  statue  of  Daniel  Webster,  my  first  duty  is  one  of  grateful 
acknowledgment.  I  esteem  it  a  very  distinguished  honor  to  have  received  an  invita- 
tion of  this  kind  and  for  the  second  time.  When,  eleven  years  ago,  one  of  the  most 
illustrious  of  the  native  sons  of  Massachusetts,  John  Quincy  Adams,  was,  in  the  Cap- 
itol at  Washington,  stricken  down  by  the  last  enemy,  before  whom  he  quailed  as  little 
as  he  ever  did  before  the  face  of  human  adversary,  I  was  unanimously  requested,  by 
the  two  Houses,  to  speak  for  them  on  the  melancholy  occasion,  in  Faneuil  Hall.  You 
have  now  called  upon  me,  under  unusual  circumstances,  demanding  my  warmest 
thanks,  to  repeat  the  eulogy  lately  delivered  by  me  on  the  most  distinguished  of  the 
adopted  sons  of  Massachusetts,  under  the  auspices  of  her  Legislature ;  on  such  a  ros- 
trum as  speaker  never  trod  before ;  in  the  presence  of  this  magnificent  audience ;  and 
beneath  the  arch  of  these  favoring  heavens.  I  stand  before  you  almost  subdued  by 
the  grandeur  of  the  scene.  Deeply  penetrated  with  a  sense  of  my  inability  to  do  full 
justice  to  either  of  these  occasions,  I  may  yet  account  it  a  very  signal  honor  and  hap- 
piness of  my  life,  that,  having  enjoyed  to  the  last  the  friendship  of  each  of  these  great 
men,  and  having  acted  in  harmony  with  them  on  many  important  public  occasions,  I 
have  been  permitted,  by  the  repeated  call  of  the  Legislature  of  Massachusetts,  to  pay 
the  last  funeral  and  monumental  honors  to  their  memory,  and  to  connect  my  humble 
name  with  theirs,  hi  these  public  services  of  respectful  and  grateful  commemoration. 

Mr.  Everett  then  repeated  the  address  as  delivered  in  the  Music  Hall  on  the  17th 
instant.  On  both  occasions,  about  one-half  of  the  Eulogy,  as  published  in  the  Satur- 
day Evening  Gazette  of  the  17th  instant,  was  necessarily  omitted,  on  account  of  its 
length.  On  the  occasion  of  the  Repetition  in  the  Public  Grounds,  the  entire  passage 
headed  "  Mr.  Webster  as  a  Diplomatist,"  was  also,  for  the  same  reason,  omitted.  The 
manuscript  having  been  in  the  printer's  hands  a  week  before  its  delivery,  a  few  pas- 
sages of  the  Eulogy,  as  spoken,  are  wanting  in  the  newspaper  editions.  They  are 
found,  in  their  places,  in  the  preceding  pages. 

Commonwealth  of  Mauachusetts. 

In  SEKATE,  Oct.  8,  1859. 

Ordered,  That  the  thanks  of  the  Legislature  be  tendered  to  the  Hon.  Edward 
Everett  for  his  Address,  dedicating  the  Statue  of  Daniel  Webster,  delivered  before 
them,  on  the  27th  of  September,  in  compliance  with  their  request. 

Sent  down  for  concurrence.  S.  N.  GIFFORD,  Clerk. 

House  of  Representative*,  Oct.  10,  1859. 
Concurred. 

(Signed)  WILLIAM  STOWE,  Clerk. 


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